BusinessMirror January 25, 2022 by BusinessMirror

Cyber attacks, supply chain top biz risks ‘Close borders, cut Omicron exposure risk’ By Tyrone Jasper C. Piad @Tyronepiad

C C

By Cai U. Ordinario

OMPANIES in Asia Pacific @caiordinario and across the world have become concerned about LOSING themore country’s borders cyber attacks and supply chain is one of the most immediate disruptions operations courses affecting of action their the governrather than the pandemic, as they ment must take to prevent the lathave learned how to adapt and est Covid-19 variant, Omicron, from implement business continuity plans. reaching Philippine shores, accordAccording to Allianz Risk Baing to local economists. rometer 2022, Covid-19 concerns T he new var iant is a threat, offid asay majore s p e appear c i a l l y to wbe it htapering t he hol s ity or 80 percent of the respondents coming up and more foreigners they relatively beingclaimed a llowed to “feel travel to thewell prepared for a future pandemic.” Philippines, De La Sa lle UniverThe emergence theOplas Omicron sit y economist Mar ia of Ella variant showed that the pandemic told BusinessMirror. still remainsusually a threat because The holidays bring in it can adversely impact the business Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) sector’s performance in at least the who are eager to spend Christmas

first few months of the year, the report pointed out. “Many companies are taking with their loved ones, while foradvantage of the increased awareeigners living in temperate regions ness want of business interruption, usually to relax in tropicaland we have seen more organizations countries like the Philippines. This investing toolsisand systems year’s influx ofinOFWs expected to to improve transparency of supply be heavier since many of them were chains, work through scenarios unable to come home for the holidaysand update their business continuity,” in December 2020. saidrecommendation Philip Beblo, global property “My is to protect industry lead for technology, media the borders. Do not allow people with and telecommunications at Allianz a history of travel to countries with Global Corporate Specialty positive cases to enter,”and Oplas said. (AGCS). “We should be more restrictive. [We cyber risks, in theterms report have toAs be]for more protective noted that topmost concern is ranof our measures.” somware attacks, which have been Oplas said that while this will be on the rise given the accelerated a setback to some industries, this to digitalization and remote is a shift fair measure considering that working. this could help prevent placing the referslockdown, to a malware countryRansomware in another strict

that encrypts a victim’s information in exchange for ransom. Such can she be said, accidentally downloaded which, the economy can no through suspicious links or e-mail longer afford. attachments. “It is better that we do protective “Ransomware become big preventive measureshas than get exbusiness for cybercriminals, who posed again. We have a lot to lose,” havesaid. refined their business Oplas “We should do it nowmodso els and tactics, lowering barriers that we can open just before Christto Ifentry makingweitcan easier mas. it getsand contained, opento carry out attacks,” Allianz said. it again.” The price tag this kind Ateneo Center forfor Economic Re-of cyber attack, it noted, is as low search and Development (ACERD)as $40 per month subscription. CrypAssociate Director Ser Percival tocurrencies are even used to K. Peña-Reyes said closing settle the the transactions so theybe cannot country’s borders would effec-be traced. tive but should still adhere to the Allianz flagged theHealth “double standards setalso by the World extortion” tactics in recent years. Organization (WHO). In addition to the initial encryption What is needed, Peña-Reyes told ofnewspaper, the victim’sis data, cybercriminals this for travel restricalso threaten to make personal tions to be put in place swiftly andor

sensitive data public. Hackers also now try to encrypt or delete datatobackups, which for government be proactive in makes restoration or recovery even imposing them. more challenging if not impossible, Previous instances when the the report warned. country had the opportunity to imHead ofdid Cyber poseAGCS travelGlobal restrictions notScott preSayce explained that the “commervent the spread of Covid-19. That was cialization” of cybercrime made mainly because the decisionhas was not hacking “easier” and cybercrimimade immediately, he said. nals can papatay do it nowpatay on a [If “massive “Kung we’re scale,” affecting several public and slow] and we get caught flat-footprivate sectors. ed, [that’s risky] We were too re“Ininstead the past, bank robber may active ofaproactive before. have hit one or two banks in a week We should learn from that,” Peñaaftersaid. many“It’s months of preparation. Reyes a delicate balancing Yet, with a cyber attack, you and can act. We need to push testing target thousands of businesses at tracing to be properly informed once, anywhere in the world, and of our decisions. Blanket/shotgun extract more valuable dataconsethan approaches could have dire before,” Sayce explained. quences on the economy.” See “Cyber,” A2 See “Omicron,” A2

FOREIGN FIRMS WARNED NATL GOVT BORROWINGS VS BLANKET DE-RISKING FOR 10 MOS DIP TO P2.75T w w

Tuesday, January 29, 25, 2021 2022 Vol. Vol.17 17 No.52 No. 109 Monday, November

n n

P25.00 P25.00 nationwide nationwide || 22 sections sections 20 20 pages pages ||

By Bernadette D. Nicolas

Omicron risk spurs revival of quarantine rules in PHL

@BNicolasBM

HE national government’s gross borrowings as of end-October shrank by almost 6 percent year-on-year to P2.75 trillion.

By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

Latest data from the Bureau of the Treasury showed that the government’s gross borrowings during the 10-month period fell by 5.99 percent from P2.92 trillion a year ago. With only twoFerdinand months“Bongbong” left for Marcos Jr., joined by wife Lisa Araneta-Marcos, is seen in photo with members of the ALC Media Group after Monday’s PRESIDENTIAL aspirant this year, the latest figure is already free-wheeling discussion with them. Seated with him are D. Edgard A. Cabangon, chairman of the ALC Media Group, and Benjamin V. Ramos, CNN Philippines equivalent to 89.6 percent of itsA. Cabangon, Pilipino Mirror managing editor Susan Cambri, DWIZ host Trixie Angeles, Danica Cabangon, Nina president. Standing from left are: D. Edward P3.07-trillion borrowing program. Cabangon; Standing, back row (L-R): DWIZ’s Jaymark Dagala, Sandro Marcos, BusinessMirror San Francisco correspondent Willie Jurado IV, Sharon Tan, BusinessMirror Broken down, gross domesticPilipino bor- Mirror General Manager Joy Siddayao and Philippine Graphic Special Edition Editor Lito Gagni. ROY DOMINGO editor in chief Lourdes M. Fernandez, rowings from January to October settled at P2.23 trillion, down by Tyrone Jasper C. Piad @Tyronepiad 5.08 percent fromByP2.35 trillion in 2020. The bulk of the amount was PEOPLE walk past the mural of Gat Andres Bonifacio at Manila City Hall Underpass. sourced from Fixed Rate Treasury The country will celebrate the 158th birth anniversary of Filipino revolutionary Bonds (P1.19 trillion), followed by hero Gat Andres Bonifacio on Tuesday, November 30. ROY DOMINGO short-term borrowings from Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas or BSP (P540 billion), Retail Treasury Bonds/Premyo Bonds (P463.3 billion), Retail Onshore Dollar Bonds (P80.84 bilATIONALIZING the enaddressed with a far-seeing lion). In the same period, there was ergy framework to adpolicy direction and strateBy Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas dating its registry following the them. This allows everyone to see also a net redemption of Treasury dress supply and pricing gic investments, noting that, @jearcalas enactment of the Coconut Farmwho are listed in the registry and if Bills amounting to P43.94 billion. of power, and making strategic “the price of see power; andthen thehe ers and Industry Trust Fund law. farmer doesn’t his name Net debt redemption means investments in agriculture and reliability and availability ORE than 3 million Rosales explained that about shall coordinate with the PCAof imthere were more debts repaid comfisheries to ensure food security, power is always an issue coconut farmers and 500,000 coconut farmers and mediately,” he explained at awith recent pared to the amount borrowed durfinancial companies implement top the challenges the PCA’s next investors.” Tococonut get back invesworkerstoare now regisworkers were addedthat to the dialogue with farmers. ingIn theaddition, period. the IPOPHL also asked foreign financial firms to the recommended risk manageadministration must reckon tor interest, “we have fix tered with the government’s reg2018 list that had about 2.5 million “On the other hand, iftopeople Meanwhile, gross foreign bornot place “additional unnecessary ment strategies. with, according to presidential the system,” Marcos said. istry, which serves as the basis coconut farmers and farm workers. would see names on the list and rowings in the same period also scrutiny” by on9.7 Philippine-related “As member of the Financial aspirant Ferdinand “Bongbong” Thethink division for the number of people to be The PCA’s next step is to conthey they of arethe notenergy coconut contracted percent to P518.7 transactions. Intelligence, Law Enforcement Marcos Jr. system into three—generation, covered by the utilization of the duct an exclusion-inclusion profarmers or their details are incorbillion from last year’s P574.4 billion. “De-risking—the termination andP75-billion Prosecution Sub-Committee Agriculture is one those transmission distribution coconut levy fund. cedure by making theofupdated rect, they can and report it to the PCA This was raised through global or restriction of business relation[FILEPSC], IPOPHL continues to sectors “that give the most —has spawned some issues, he Philippine Coconut Authority farmers’ registry public, providfor immediate action,” he added. bonds (P146.17 billion), program ships with clients or avoidance of strengthen the fight against coun‘bang for the buck’ to investsaid, noting how the National (PCA) Deputy Administrator Roel ing everyone the opportunity to The PCA official noted that loans (P139.98 billion), euro-declients andbonds businesses—could deterfeiting andsaid piracy, which have ments,” it is time to list, finally Grid Corporationofofthe theinitial PhilipM. Rosales about 3.11 million check theand veracity of the Rothe completion list nominated (P121.97 billion), prive Philippine businesses and been identified as among the sources give priority to an area that was pines (NGCP), which is in charge coconut farmers and farm worksales added. of coconut farmers registry would a project loan (P86.41 billion), and nationals from financial of money and financ“neglected through soinmany of being ers havelaundering been registered with the “The list will be posted public betransmission, just in time is for the blamed expected yen-denominated samuraiservices bonds that can provide the means for their ing of organized criminal groups administrations,” especially by the Department of Energy government since it started upspaces where people can easily see rollout of coconut levy-funded (P24.19 billion). survivalSeeand recovery from this around the world,” Barba said. given how the Covid-19 pan(DOE) for some problems beyond “Borrowings,” A2 crisis,” IPOPHL Director General The FILEPSC is a subcommitdemic showed its crucial role its mandate, as what happened Rowel S. Barba said in a statement tee of the National Anti-Money in ensuring food security in in last year’s series of unplanned n Laundering/Countering US 50.4600 n JAPAN 0.4374 n HKhealth 6.4722 crisis n CHINA SINGAPORE 36.8968 n AUSTRALIA on Monday. the n Fi-UK 67.2329 a public that 7.9013 en- n outages in May and June. Citing the Paris-based Finannancing of Terrorism Coordinattailed prolonged lockdowns, To illustrate how the power cial Action Task Force (FATF), the ing Committee. This committee Marcos said in a free-wheeling supply system suffers from some IP agency said that the “de-risking oversees the implementation of the interview with journalists from “crazy scenarios,” he noted that approach could also push de-risked National Anti-Money Laundering the ALC Media Group on Monwhile “geothermal comes from companies to pursue unregulated and Counter-Financing of Terrorday morning. Leyte,” the Eastern Visayan financing channels, potentially ism Strategy (NACS), which was In the same d iscussion, provinces have some of the highbringing more difficulties to the approved through Executive Order Marcos dwelt at length on est power rates. traceability of dirty money.” 68 in 2018. why energy issues must be See “BBM,” A2 See “Foreign firms,” A2 Instead, the FATF encourages

NTER NATIONA L concerns over the possible spread of the more infectious Omicron Covid-19 variant prompted the government to reimpose mandatory facility-based quarantine for all arriving passengers in the country. Acting Presidential spokesperson Karlo B. Nograles announced on Sunday that the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) suspended the implementation of its Resolution No. 150A (s.2021), effectively imposing stricter protocols for all inbound travelers. To note, IATF Resolution 150A had allowed fully vaccinated non-visa travelers from Green List areas to enter the country without the need for facility-based HE National Economic Dequarantine as long as they secure velopment Authority (Neda) negative Reverse Transcriptionis pushing for government Polymerase Chain Reaction (RTand private sector collaboration on PCR) test within 72 hours prior improving prospects for economic to their departure. recovery, boosting productivity programs as President Duterte in “Except for countries classified country,toand responding to cliisthe expected sign the industry as ‘Red,’ the testing and quarantine mate change.plan in early 2022. development protocols for all inbound internaSocioeconomic Rosales said thePlanning PCA will Secrenot tional travelers in all ports of entry tary updating Karl Kendrick Chua vowed stop its listT.of coconut shall comply with the testing and to focusand on pushing these top 3 farmers enjoinedfor them to regquarantine protocols for ‘Yellow’ priorities for the remaining months ister in order to reap the benefits list countries,” Nograles said, citing ofthe hisdecades-long term. “Everything we do in environment, of idled coconut the provision oftheIATF Resolution to continue education, agriculture, transportation, levy“The fund.first “Weiswill not stop atour 3.1reNo. 151-A. covery from the Covid-19 pandemic. energy, governance would revolve million. We hope that more indiHe and noted Hong Kong, which has I think this requires a change in our around protecting or enhancing viduals will register in our coconut confirmed a case of the the Omicron mindsetregistry,” or paradigm, from a panlivability the people, whether it isthe on Yelfarmers he said. variant,ofwill also fall under demic morecoconut endemic planet earth or in the Philippines.” The mindset updatingtoofa the low list countries. mindset,registry where we can balancebythe —Neda of Secretary Karl Chua farmers is mandated The suspension the rules for important needs of the people Republic Act (RA) 11524 or the to “Green List” countries will be in protect themselves from Covid and economy and mobility;28, 5) 2021 schoolCoconut Industry Trust Fund Act. effect from November to to protect themselves from all other ing; 6) domestic travel; 7) internaSee “3-M farmers,” A2 December 15, 2021. diseases, problems of hunger, jobtional travel; 8) digital transformaContinued on A2 lessness, and the need for income to tion; 9) pandemic flexibility bill; support also other development oband 10) medium-term preparation 36.2807 n Chua EU 56.5758 ARABIAfor13.4531 Source: BSP (November 26, 2021) jectives,” said in n hisSAUDI message pandemic resilience. during the 2022 Inaugural Meeting On boosting productivity in the and Induction Ceremonies of the Ficountry, Chua said the private sector nancial Executives Institute of the plays a crucial role, adding that this Philippines (FINEX) last Tuesday. could be increased by strengthening As part of this, Neda and the ecohuman capital development, improvnomic team proposed a 10-point ing health and education outcomes, policy change to address the follogistics, business processes, and the lowing areas: 1) metrics; 2) vacciway the country does governance. Continued on A9 nation; 3) health-care capacity; 4)

Neda chief vows to push 3 priorities for rest of term

BBM: NEXT PRESIDENT MUST RECKON WITH ENERGY, FARM ISSUES T OVER 3-M FARMERS LISTED FOR P75-B COCO LEVY FUND

HE Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) backed the call of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) for foreign financial institutions to avoid wholesale de-risking in their bid to protect themselves against dirty money, saying such blanket moves could hurt Philippine businesses and nationals.

PESO EXCHANGE RATES

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 51.4230

n JAPAN 0.4525 n UK 69.7142 n HK 6.6038 n CHINA 8.1114 n SINGAPORE 38.2555 n AUSTRALIA 36.8703 n EU 58.3343 n SAUDI ARABIA 13.7095

Source: BSP (January 24, 2022)

News

BusinessMirror

A2 Tuesday, January 25, 2022

Asean still on track for single tourism destination goal in ’25 By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo

@akosistellaBM Special to the BusinessMirror

SEAN is still on track to becoming a single tourism destination by 2025 despite the difficulties in restarting travel within the region because of Covid-19. In a joint media statement issued on January 19 at the close of the Asean Tourism Forum (ATF) in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, the region’s tourism ministers were “pleased to note that the tourism sector has adapted and pivoted to new business models so as to ready itself to bounce back strongly to recapture growth. In this regard, the Meeting highlighted the importance of expediting the implementation of the post-Covid-19 Recovery Plan for Asean Tourism,” endorsed last September. The ministers also took into consideration each member’s travel policies and regulations, along with their respective Covid situations, working toward the

gradual resumption of travel in the region. Preliminary data showed the region’s tourism sector recorded continued decreases in tourism receipts by some 94.33 percent, with a marked fall in international travel tourism arrivals by 90.03 percent. The ministers noted the average hotel occupancy across nine member-states at just 27.45 percent even as member-states’ vaccination programs have encouraged domestic travel. Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat, for her part, invited her fellow tourism ministers to visit the Philippines. “As a testament to our commitment and efforts to support the Asean

region’s recovery and opening to tourism, the Philippines, together with the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) is organizing the 21st WTTC Global Summit this 2022 in Metro Manila with the theme ‘Rediscovering Travel.’ As many if not all of you already know, the global summit is the largest gathering of key industry players and experts in travel and tourism worldwide. The Philippines cordially invites the Tourism Ministers to this momentous occasion that is set to contribute to the reopening of the Asean and foster its readiness to take on a lead role in global tourism.” The global summit is tentatively scheduled from April 20 to 22. In their joint media statement, the tourism ministers also emphasized the need to support tourism micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and promote equal opportunities to enhance jobs for local communities, minorities and other vulnerable groups. They also “highlighted the need to take advantage of digital technology to boost tourism workers’ capacity and capability through reskilling and upskilling so as to ensure relevancy for a post-pandemic landscape.” The ministers committed to draw up clear policies and regulations to implement the just-approved Asean Guidelines on Hygiene and Safety for Profession-

als and the Communities in the Tourism Industry and the Asean Safe Travel Stamp. The hygiene guidelines will cover eight tourism and tourism-related sectors: accommodations, restaurants, facilities, spa and wellness, ecotourism/community-based tourism, travel and tour operation, theme parks, and convention centers. The Asean Safe Travel Stamp, said the ministers may be used by tourism industry players “to assure travelers of hygiene and safety standards.” Both measures were seen as boosting the competitiveness of the region as a “preferred tourism destination.” In this regard, ATF launched the region’s new branding campaign with a refreshed logo and tagline, “A Destination for Every Dream, aimed as [capturing] the warmth, resilience, and sense of fun and adventure that are emblematic of the Southeast Asian region and peoples. Through its new branding, Asean will continue to market Southeast Asia as a single destination, and raise awareness of the region’s incredible diversity of offerings that travelers could rediscover once borders reopen around the world.” With this in mind, the ministers encouraged member-states along with the private sector to strengthen marketing and collaboration to push the region’s tourism offerings.

Cyber...

Continued from A1

Supply chains

MEANWHILE, the respondents also cited business interruption as a primary concern for this year, which includes supply chain disruptions. Allianz explained that the pandemic has revealed the vulnerabilities of the modern supply chains, noting that a plethora of unprecedented events can lead to severe bottlenecks. “Post-lockdown surges in demand have combined with disruption to production and logistics, as Covid-19 outbreaks in Asia closed factories and caused record levels of congestion at major container ship ports,” the report said. “For most organizations, the biggest fear is not being able to produce and deliver their products or services,” Beblo said, noting that the delays can be very costly as well for the companies. According to the study, companies had to shrink or even shut production due to shortage of critical components. Some also had to incur losses from foregone sales due to delivery concerns including constraints on container shipping. Apart from these, other knockon effects by the disruption include heightened demand for energy that led to blackouts and factory closures in Asia, it noted. Citing a report, the recent Covid-19 infections are expected to exacerbate the supply chain constraints until the second half of this year but global demand and supply and shipping capacity shortages are projected to ease beginning July should there be no more unexpected adverse events. Companies, given the disruptions, are now also more keen on evaluating their business resilience and critical supply chains, Allianz said. “Awareness has gone beyond risk management departments to become an important issue across the entire company. There is now a desire and willingness among top management to bring greater transparency to supply chains and to work with data to better understand the risks,” AGCS Global Head of Property Risk Consulting Maarten van der Zwaag said.

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BBM...

Continued from A1

The key to ensuring energy security, he explained, is “striking the right balance” between the diverse sources of energy and ramping up investments in renewables as they become more cost-efficient, citing the great strides made in solar power, while acknowledging the limitations of wind, which they had taken pride in because of the Bangui windmills in his home province of Ilocos Norte. Acknowledging the Philippines’s commitments to helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the global climate agreements, Marcos nonetheless pointed to the need to consider the present “realities” in terms of the country’s continuing reliance on oil and coal for its baseload plants. This, he added, is one reason why the investments in renewables by both the state and public sectors should continue to escalate. Meanwhile, Marcos expressed an openness to revisiting nuclear power, which he noted many first world countries have continued to invest in because it is clean and price-efficient. He rued what he described as a “political decision” to mothball the Bataan nuclear power plant built in his father’s time, while noting that its “sister plants in Korea have been doing well.” The BNPP was mothballed by the post-Edsa Cory Aquino administration, noting safety concerns besides issues of overprice.

‘Managing debt bomb’

CHANNELLING huge resources to energy, agriculture and other priority sectors like tourism will require a clear strategy in harnessing strong public-private partnerships in order to drive investments there, according to Marcos. Replying to a question from BusinessMir ror on how he would deal with a possible “ debt bomb ” as warned by some quarters, given how heav y borrowings forced by the pandemic response caused the countr y’s debt to soar the last two years, Marcos said the debt as percentage of GDP is running at the level of 59- 60 percent, which, compared to other countries that borrowed heavily, is still manageable. Nonetheless, he stressed, the country’s working its way out of debt would require a very “clear vi-

sion and strategic action. The country “must have a targeted [focus] in terms of public investments. I don’t think that if we allow [the usual] free market” to run its course, it can quickly boost economic growth and restore fiscal health, added the Partido Federal standard bearer. “We really have to target certain sectors of the economy.” According to the end-December report of the Bureau of Treasury, the national government’s outstanding debt for January to November 2021 hit P11.93 trillion, beyond the government’s expected level of P11.73 trillion.

FOI, SALN issues

REPLYING to a query by CNN Philippines, the former senator said that if elected president, he would likely support a tack to limit releases of the Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Networth (SALN) of government officials, saying the current Ombudsman’s concern over SALNs being weaponized to “harass” public servants is a valid concern. “If a SALN needs to be disclosed as part of an investigation,” releasing it should be mandatory, he said, but added that he had known of many cases where public officers were raked over the coals by their political rivals on account of minute, seemingly harmless entries in their SALNs. Reminded that as senator for six years, he had released, along with other members of the chamber, their SALNs every year wthout incident, Marcos noted he had been diligent in filling up his SALNs, especially in the valuation of declared properties. However, he said, there are some public officers who lose so much time responding to alleged harassment cases over their SALN. Marcos, one of only three senators (the others being Joker Arroyo and Miriam Defensor Santiago) who voted to acquit then Chief Justice Renato Corona in his impeachment trial in 2012, said the Corona case “inf luenced a lot” his views on how SALN can be weaponized because, “I saw every single bit of evidence,” and in his view, Corona did nothing illegal in his SALN filing. “They manipulated the analysis of his SALN,” he added. Lourdes M. Fernandez

Foreign firms... IPOPHL said it seeks to resume its dialogue with financial payment gateways and legal enforcement authorities (LEAs) this year. The agency said they tackled the gaps in tracking the “dirty money” flow; onboarding processes that ensure legitimacy of partners and transactions; and IP crime investigations and enforcement during their last meeting in 2020. “We look forward to continuing our partnership and synergy with payment gateways and LEAs to ad-

House...

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dress these gaps,” Barba said. The IPOPHL official said they are also looking to develop a coordination mechanism with the National Privacy Commission to streamline data-sharing among IPOPHL, payment gateways and LEAs. He said such is key in addressing the IP crimes and taking action against perpetrators. “We hope to succeed in our collaboration goals this year and that our efforts contribute to the delisting of the Philippines from the FATF Grey List,” Barba concluded.

Continued from A12

It authorizes the bank to issue all kinds of bonds, debentures, securities, collaterals and other evidence of indebtedness conditioned upon prior approval from the Secretary of Finance and compliance with applicable laws and regulations of the Monetary Board. It also provides that the Bank’s board of directors may, however, increase its capitalization upon the recommendation of the Secretary of Finance and with the approval of the President of the Philippines. The bill prescribes that the voting power of the common shares owned and controlled by the national government shall be vested in the President of the Philippines or any ex-officio member of the board or his designated alternate. It also provides that the bank’s board of directors shall be composed of 11 members, which shall be as follows: Secretary of Finance (as Chairperson), Bank President (as Vice Chairperson), Secretary of Agrarian Reform, Secretary of Labor, Secretary of the National Economic and Development Authority, and Secretary of Agriculture as exofficio members. Two members of the board representing ARBS and three members representing the private sector shall be appointed by the President of the Philippines

in accordance with the provisions of Republic Act No. 10149 (GOCC Governance Act of 2011). The bill authorizes the bank to sell its acquired real estate and other properties to a Financial Institutions Strategic Transfer Corporation (FISTC) under Republic Act No. 11523 (Financial Institutions Strategic Transfer Act), and to take possession of foreclosed properties during the period of redemption, as well as to enjoy its civil fruits with no obligation to account or bond for the purposes of possession. It empowers the bank to reorganize and rationalize its organizational structure to revitalize and strengthen its work force, and to incentivize early separation of tenured employees as well as those with medical conditions, within 180 days from the effectivity of this proposal and whenever necessary thereafter. Those who will retire or are separated pursuant to the reorganization shall be entitled to all benefits provided under existing laws and retirement plans effective within by the bank. The measure also penalizes any violation of this proposal with a fine of not exceeding P500,000 or imprisonment of not more than five years, or both fine and imprisonment, at the discretion of the court. Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

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The Nation BusinessMirror

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Tuesday, January 25, 2022 A3

DA’s move to import fish stirs more questions By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

ISHERIES industry players on Monday remained firm that the government’s additional 60,000 metric ton (MT) importation of small pelagic fishes is unnecessary since the country has sufficient supply. Three members of the National Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Council (NFARMC) revealed that the 13 industry representatives at the advisory body were all unanimous in rejecting the proposal of the Department of Agriculture (DA) to allow another round of importation for first quarter consumption. The members noted that the two remaining members of the NFARMC, who are all from the government, supported the proposal to import 60,000 MT of small pelagic fishes. “Our decision was unanimous among the representatives from the

fisheries industry except for the two members from the government,” said David B. Villaruz, chairman of the Philippine Association of Fish Producers Inc. and holds a seat at the NFARMC, during a virtual news briefing on Monday. The NFARMC is comprised of the following: an Agriculture Undersecretary, an Interior and Local Government Undersecretary, five members from the fisherfolk sector, five members from the commercial, aquaculture and fish processing sector, two experts from the academe and one from a nongovernment organization (NGO) involved in fisheries. Dennis F. Calvan of the Pangingisda Natin Gawing Tama (Panagat Network), who holds the NGO spot at the NFARMC, disclosed that they are now hoping that lawmakers will conduct a hearing to investigate the approval of the 60,000 MT despite the recommendation by industry players to not push through with it. “We support the plan of Sena-

tor Imee Marcos to conduct a hearing regarding this importation. We support this plan in order to have a clearer picture about the issue and in order to monitor this fish importation,” Calvan said during the briefing. In an earlier statement, Marcos said she would file a resolution this week to investigate the approval of the 60,000 MT small pelagic fishes importation by the Department of Agriculture (DA). One of the sticking points during the NFARMC’s deliberation last January 13 on the proposal to import more small pelagic fish was the veracity of the data presented by government officials in coming up with the “potential” shortage this first quarter. “During our deliberations, what we were questioning really was the data. Where did it come from? How did they come up with such data? Is it transparent? Is it science based?” Villaruz said. “And this was not explained clearly to us. Based on our appreciation,

there’s no need to import more based on existing data they presented to us,” Villaruz added. Villaruz also pointed out that there is still unused volume from the importation program approved in the last quarter of last year. Citing government data presented during the January 13 meeting, Calvan said about 45,000 MT of small pelagic fish imports from last year’s importation round are yet to be consumed. Calvan noted that about 32,000 MT of the volume are still in the cold storages. Villaruz proposed that the government implement a benchmarking model that would serve as a basis or trigger to decide if the government must allow imports or not. “We need such a sound data system. If we have that, then we may not even need a NFARMC meeting because everything’s clear to everyone,” he said. Calvan said the government should implement a program that

would boost domestic output when there is an anticipated shortfall in overall supply due to the closed fishing season or impacts of typhoons. Peter Paul Santos, vice president for the National Capital Region of the Alliance of Philippines Fishing Federation Inc., said only about 10,000 MT of frozen fish could be consumed every month based on their experience at the Navotas fish landing port. “That gives us only about 30,000 MT per month. They already issued 60,000 MT last quarter and they issued another 60,000 MT this quarter. The 60,000 MT last quarter is not yet fully consumed to date,” Santos, who also sits at the NFARMC, said. Norberto Chingcuanco, another NFARMC member, said they hoped that the government, particularly Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar, listened to the recommendation of the multi-sectoral body since they are all people from the ground. “We were hoping that our arguments deserved an evaluation. The

data presented to us was just a forecast, a production,” he said. Last week, Dar signed the certificate of necessity to import (CNI) 60,000 MT of small pelagic fishes to plug the shortfall in the country’s fish supply in the first quarter despite the recommendation by the NFARMC. Citing estimates made by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, Dar pointed out that the country has a “potential” fish supply deficit of about 119,000 MT this first quarter. DaremphasizedthattheNFARMC is just a “recommendatory” body and pointed out that as the agriculture chief he has the responsibility to allow imports or not to ensure the country’s food security. “The NFARMC is a body that has the ‘recommendary’ responsibility. Let me use that word: ‘recommendary’ responsibility,” he said. “At the end of the day we take responsibility in terms of ensuring food security, in this case fish supply of small pelagic fishes,” he added.

House panel approves grant of SRA for health workers during public emergencies

HE House Committee on Appropriations on Monday approved a substitute bill granting mandatory Special Risk Allowance (SRA) to public and private health workers, including barangay health workers (BHW), during public health emergencies. ACT-CIS Rep. Eric Go-Yap, the panel chairman, said the substitute

bill would be also known as “Public Health Emergency Benefits for Health Workers Act.” The proposal shall apply to all health workers, regardless of employment status, during the period of the public health emergency due to the Covid-19 and during public health emergencies that may be declared in the future, from the time

of the President’s declaration of the public health emergency, to the time the President lifts such. The bill said any health worker and BHWs covered under the proposal who contracted or is exposed to Covid-19 and such other disease or illness during a state of public health emergency that may occur in the future, or is affected by the

public health emergency, and is presently working from home, isolated, or quarantined, shall be entitled to the benefits under the measure. The bill said the national government shall ensure the grant of SRA for all health workers covered for every month of service during the state of public health emergency based on the risk exposure categorization as

defined as follows: A. Those deployed in “low risk areas” shall be given at least P3,000 B. Those deployed in “medium risk areas” shall be given at least P6,000 C. Those deployed in “high risk areas” shall be given P9,000. For his part, Senior Citizens partylist Rep. Rodolfo Ordanes, one of the principal authors of the bill, said the

committee has deleted the provisions on active hazard duty pay, the life insurance, accommodation, meals, and transportation allowances. While the Department of Health supports the intention of the bill, Health Assistant Secretary Maylene Beltran said the agency, however, proposes a singular allowance covering all health workers. Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

A4 Tuesday, January 25, 2022 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

Economy BusinessMirror

DA readies ₧500-M fuel subsidy program for farmers, fisherfolk amid oil price hikes

HE Department of Agriculture (DA) on Monday said it is gearing up to implement a P500million subsidy that will help farmers and fisherfolk cope rising fuel costs driven by higher global oil prices. In a news statement, DA said the government has allotted P500 million this year to bankroll a fuel subsidy program for the agriculture sector to mitigate the impact of rising oil prices to food production. The fund is stipulated under the Special Provision 20 of the General Appropriations Act (GAA) for Fiscal Year 2022 or Republic Act (RA) 11639. “We sincerely thank President Rodrigo Roa Duterte and the honorable members of the Senate and House of Representatives for approving the fuel subsidy program that appropriates P500 million for the fuel subsidy program that will benefit millions of Filipino farmers, fishers and consumers nationwide,” Agriculture Secre-

tary William D. Dar said. “Thefueldiscountwilldefinitelyhelp reduce the production and transport costsofmajorfarmandfisheryproducts, and subsequently temper their respective market prices, thus benefiting producers and consumers alike,” Dar added. Special Provision 20 stipulates that a fuel discount program would be in effect if the average Dubai crude oil price, based on Meat of Platts Singapore for three months reaches or exceeds $80 per barrel. The beneficiaries of the program must be farmers or fisherfolk who own and operate agricultural and fishery machinery individually or through a farmers organization or cooperative. Fisherfolk should also be registered in the government’s system including their fishing vessels while individual farmers who own or operate a farm machinery must present a proof of ownership to be eligible for the subsidy. Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Industry 4.0 needs to be supported by Governance 4.0

By Henry J. Schumacher

OOD for thought: Can your organization move at the speed of technology? The answer is, most likely, no. Technology far outpaces the speed at which companies can respond, leaving a constant state of catch up. The push for digital transformation urges organizations to upgrade and overhaul technology stacks toward service-based models and away from physical technology stacks. Moving too fast carries its risks. Rapid transitions threaten to leave employees behind, creating tension throughout the business. Or worse, security shortcomings emerge from poor software quality. But digital transformation goes beyond technology—if companies want to engage in a new era of technology, they must rethink how work is done too. Overall, the inexorable shift from simple digitization (the Third Industrial Revolution) to innovation based on combinations of technologies (the Fourth Industrial Revolution) is forcing companies to reexamine the way they do business. The bottom line, however, is the same: business leaders and senior executives need to understand their changing environment, challenge the assumptions of their operating teams, and relentlessly and continuously innovate. The Fourth Industrial Revolution will change not only what we do but also who we are. It will affect our identity and all the issues associated with it: our sense of privacy, our notions of ownership, our consumption patterns, the time we devote to work and leisure, and how we develop our careers, cultivate our skills, meet people, and nurture relationships. It is already changing our health and leading to a “quantified” self, and sooner than we think it may lead to human augmentation. The list is endless because it is bound only by our imagination. Food for thought again: Can government move at the speed of technology? The answer is very likely, no. Technology far outpaces the speed at which government and governance can respond, leaving a constant state of catch up and contributing to the vast ecosystem of technical debt. When our institutions would be well governed, we would pay little attention to them. They would be barely visible infrastructure that supports the economy and virtually every aspect of social order. Today, however, many people have lost confidence in institutions and their leaders. Faced with mounting risks and our collective failure to manage them, we instead look for culprits. However, the truth is much more complicated. At the root of our failure to anticipate and manage global risks—including climate change and deepening social divisions, debt crises and inadequate technological regulation—lies in an unresolved problem of global governance. Our institutions and their governance are no longer fit for purpose. We tend to think of history as a series of cataclysmic, seismic events. But the deterioration in global governance is a case of gradual erosion.

The brutal social and economic shock caused by Corona ushered in Governance 3.0. Today operational crisis management dominates the decisions, possible unintended consequences are rather meaningless. This short-term, trial-and-error approach has led to a haphazard approach to the pandemic and its socioeconomic fallout. We need a new model: Governance 4.0 to complement Industry 4.0: According to Klaus Schwab of the World Economic Forum, Governance 4.0 would differ from its predecessors in several fundamental ways: First, today’s short-term crisis management would be replaced by long-term strategic thinking. The focus on current issues such as the pandemic, socioeconomic crises and people’s mental health must be complemented by measures to protect the environment and combat climate change, as well as addressing related social challenges such as involuntary migration. Second, a Governance 4.0 must replace the tunnel vision and topdown approach that has prevailed in the past. We live in a highly complex and interconnected world. This also means that the roles and responsibilities of each stakeholder in society must change. Business can no longer ignore its social and environmental impacts, government can no longer pretend that it alone has all the answers. Third, the current emphasis on a narrow view of economics and shor t-ter m f inancia l interests must end. Instead, the primacy of society and nature should be at the heart of any new system of governance—whether for corporations or governments. Finance and economy are vital, but they must serve society and nature, not the other way around. The world has changed, so public and corporate leadership must change too. Major structural changes such as the fourth industrial revolution and climate change are now disrupting all industries and power centers. Technologies like blockchain are replacing centralized and hierarchical organizations with decentralized, autonomous entities. At the same time, social, economic and digital inequalities are increasing. But many executives are already thinking and acting like pioneers of a new governance era. These include business leaders who champion environmental, social and governance metrics , and some politicians who push boundaries. Above all, however, young people are demanding a better future. We need leaders who are exploring largely uncharted territory, acting as trailblazers and championing concrete action to combat climate change and social injustice. In the end, it all comes down to people and values, in the private sector and in government. We need to shape a future that works for all of us by putting people first and empowering them. In 2022, the focus on people will drive digital transformation as companies think through returns to the office and what a hybrid workplace will look like. What are we supposed to be involved in these days? Digitalization and innovation? To get there, we are asking ourselves how we can improve planning, forecasting, budgeting, run simulations, run plans and analytics in a very visual and intuitive manner. What tools are available? Are we making those tools available to the private and government organization? And more importantly: are we training our important asset, our people, adequately? Luckily, detailed training is available for companies, for industry sectors and subsectors, and for government offices. Feedback is welcome; assistance can be made available; contact me at hjschumacher59@gmail.com

News BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Tuesday, January 25, 2022 A5

DFA says exporters may soon be able to use ‘Merchandise Passport’ By Malou Talosig-Bartolome

VER wondered why Philippine-made products are scantily featured in international trade exhibits and fairs abroad? Or how come Filipino talents can’t hold concerts the same way other foreign bands can? How come Filipino filmmakers or broadcasters can’t show a lot of images when shooting overseas? One of the reasons, or perhaps the thousands or million dollars worth of reason, is customs taxes. Starting April 17, 2022, they will finally get their fix. The Philippines have finally acceded to the Convention on Temporary Admission, which allows Filipino exporters, filmmakers, rock bands and other services to bring their goods for temporary project without having to pay duties and taxes. All they have to do is secure a single document called ATA Carnet (pronounced kar-nay) or what importers call “Merchandise Passport.” In a news statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Philippine Ambassador to Brussels Jose De Vega deposited the Instrument of Accession of the Convention at the World Customs Organization (WCO) last January 17. The accession came 18 months after President Duterte ratified the treaty, and two months after the Philippine Senate concurred it. As a signatory to the ATA System (ATA and Istanbul Conventions), the Philippines is also bound to lift the imposition of tariffs and other customs duties on goods being imported from 87 countries and territories which are party to the Convention. These specific goods are allowed “temporary admission” and are intended for re-exportation within one year.

WCO Secretary General Kunio Mikuriya accepted the accession document and expressed his best wishes for the Philippines. Ambassador De Vega and Secretary Mikuriya said the Philippine accession would benefit not just the Philippines but also its economic partners such as the Asean. The Export Development Council (EDC), Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) and the Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. (PHILEXPORT) said they have long advocated being included in the ATA Systems community. They said micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) can have more savings in time and money when they join trades and exhibits overseas. PCCI President Benedicto Yujuico also said aside from savings from taxes and duties, the ATA System will simplify Customs procedures. Gone are the days when exporters will need to fill out several forms and documents, which are time-consuming. Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III had earlier said ATA System will also benefit Filipino athletes who have to carry assorted equipment from country to country for training or competition, as well as media personnel and journalists who need to carry laptops, cameras and tripods to cover various political hot spots. After the Covid-19 pandemic, the foreign affairs committee chair also sees that highvalue scientific equipment will be brought from country to country for demonstration. When disaster strikes the country again, humanitarian organizations or countries can also bring in water purification equipment, aircraft, electrical power plants, telecommunications installations, and transportation development without too much Customs hassles to help in the reconstruction and recovery projects.

Notwithstanding the revenue losses, the Bureau of Customs would benefit from the codified ATA Carnet System. “BOC [Bureau of Customs] would no longer need to use valuable time and resources processing temporary admission of scientific, professional and other goods and equipment,” he said. The BOC would only need to monitor if the ATA goods “fail to be totally re-exported.” Aside from products for trade fairs, media equipment and athletic gears, other merchandise items that can be imported under the ATA System are: 1. Aerospace 2. Agricultural equipment 3. Antiques and antiquities 4. Art such as paintings, sculpture and installations 5. Circus animals, props, sets, costumes 6. Computer equipment including routers, networking devices 7. Construction and mining equipment 8. Defense and military items, security and surveillance, aircraft, unmanned vehicles 9. Diagnostic devices 10. Electronics including laptop computers 11. Jewelry 12. Livestock 13. Medical devices 14. Research and scientific equipment 15. Robots and robotic devices 16. Telecommunications 17. Trade show exhibit booths 18. Water equipment The country’s top trading partners of the Philippines — China, US, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Germany, South Korea, and The Netherlands — are also members of the ATA System. Taiwan, which is also one of the country’s top 10 trading partners, is not a party. Taipei has its own special, bilateral ATA Carnet with 41 other countries.

BFAR clarifies VMS and ERS apparatus onboard PHL fishing vessels not optional but ‘mandatory’ By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

@jearcalas

HE Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) on Monday clarified that the installation of vessel monitoring system (VMS) and electronic reporting system (ERS) for commercial fishing vessels is mandatory and not merely voluntary, contrary to reports published recently. The BFAR, an attached bureau of the Department of Agriculture (DA), pointed out that Section 119 of Republic Act (RA) 8550 or the Fisheries Code is clear that the installation of VMS and ERS is mandatory for all commercial Philippine-flagged fishing vessels. “There have been news reports citing statements made by a DABFAR official during a consultative meeting with stakeholders from the commercial fishing industry stating that the requirement is now voluntary. We clarify, however, that these statements do not represent the full context under which they were given,” it said in a news statement issued on Monday. “During the consultation, the said official merely encouraged the commercial fishing vessel operators to submit themselves voluntarily for the installation to avoid the imposition of temporary suspension of fishing vessel license, as preventive measures, to non-complying operators in violation of law. We maintain that, unless amended, the requirement for the installation of VMS and ERS remains in effect and compliance with its provisions is mandatory,” it added. The BFAR said through the Office of the Solicitor General it has already filed a Petition for Review before the Supreme Court questioning the decision of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Malabon City, which declared Fisheries Administrative Order (FAO) 266 as null and void for being unconstitutional. In a news statement on Monday, nongovernment organization Oceana lauded the announcement from BFAR that the installation of the VMS and ERS, which are aimed to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, is not voluntary “as erroneously reported by some media outlets.” “These are MANDATORY and REQUIRED of all commercial fishing vessels under RA 10654, which amended the Fisheries Code in 2015 and the Fisheries Administrative Order 266 promulgated

DOH logs addl 24,938 Covid-19 infections on Monday; total cases now at 3,442,056

HE Department of Health (DOH) logged an additional of 24,938 Covid-19 cases on Monday, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 3,442,056. There were also 35,461 recoveries and 47 deaths. Of the 24,938 reported cases, 24,239 (97 percent) occurred within the recent 14 days (January 11-January 24, 2022). The top regions with cases in the recent two weeks were the National Capital Region with 3,610 or 15 percent, Region 4A (3,382 or 14 percent) and Region 7 (2,562 or 11 percent. Of the 47 deaths, 43 occurred in January 2022 (91 percent), three in October 2021 (6 percent), and one in September 2021 (2 percent) due to late encoding of death information to COVIDKaya. This issue is currently being coordinated by the DOH with the Epidemiology and Surveillance Units to ensure information is up to date. Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

in October 2020,” the group said. “This vessel monitoring regulation, if fully implemented and followed by all will effectively prevent, deter, and stop commercial fishing vessels from illegally encroaching our municipal waters,” it added. Last week, a press release circulated among media outfits citing that BFAR has “declared” that the installation of VMS and ERS “will be voluntary not mandatory.” The release quoted Michael Andayog, officer-in-charge of BFAR’s Fisheries Regulatory and Licensing Division (FRLD), that the installation of the monitoring gadgets is no longer mandatory. The Malabon City RTC last year declared FAO 266 null and void for being unconstitutional. FAO 266 outlined the rules and regulations for the implementation of the VMS and ERS for commercial Philippine flagged fishing vessels.

BusinessMirror

Tuesday, January 25, 2022

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS No.

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

No.

ACCENTURE, INC. 7f, Robinsons Cybergate Tower 1, Pioneer St, City Of Mandaluyong

FATRYONO LOW WIN Chinese Customer Service 11.

HAN, SANGMIN Program & Project Management Senior Analyst 1.

Brief Job Description: Project Managers (PM) facilitate the implementation of Verizon products by directing cross functional teams to execute plans.

TANI, KAZUYUKI Service Delivery Senior Analyst 2.

Brief Job Description: Provide support in monitoring and evaluation of performance gap in relation to language skills

Basic Qualification: Preferably a graduate of Accountancy, Finance or any business related course. Fluent in English & Korean. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: JLPT N2 certified or equivalent knowledge in using Microsoft office tools with minimum 2-3 years’ work experience

SHAHA, JOHN Production Manager 3.

Brief Job Description: Estimating and negotiating and agreeing budgets and timescales with clients and manager

12.

13.

OH, SEKOOK Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Manage Korean customer queries/complaints

14.

Brief Job Description: Manage the promotion and services that the company offers

15.

16.

Brief Job Description: Provides customer service in foreign language, taking phone calls, answering to customer inquiries through emails and solving customer issues.

Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999

18.

Brief Job Description: Communicate effectively via email and/or telephone with our customer base – buyers, merchants, and internal customers, take appropriate action to identify and help minimize the risk posed by fraud patterns and trends, consistently achieve/exceed weekly productivity and quality standards, and participate in ad hoc projects/assignments as necessary.

Basic Qualification: proficiency in both English and Chinese languages, adept with Microsoft office, communicate effectively with customer basebuyers and merchants, consistently achieve weekly productivity and quality standards

19.

CHANDRA Chinese Customer Service 8.

Brief Job Description: Managing Incoming calls and customer service inquiries

20.

DING, SHIXIAN Chinese Customer Service 9.

Brief Job Description: Managing Incoming calls and customer service inquiries

DO NHU TIEN Chinese Customer Service 10.

Brief Job Description: Managing Incoming calls and customer service inquiries

21.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write Chinese Language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries

KRISTANTO LIPS Chinese Customer Service 22.

Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries

KUI LIANTO Chinese Customer Service 23.

Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries

LAM MINH NGOC Chinese Customer Service 24.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write Chinese Language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries

JHON WENRY Chinese Customer Service

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write Chinese Language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries

HUYNH GIA TRUNG Chinese Customer Service

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

ANOC99 CORPORATION 5/f To 10/f Ayala Malls Manila Bay Building D., Macapagal Blvd. Cor. Aseana Street, Tambo, City Of Parañaque

Brief Job Description: Managing Incoming calls and customer service inquiries

HTUN LWIN OO Chinese Customer Service

AMAZON OPERATION SERVICES PHILIPPINES, INC. B21 Three E-com Moa Complex, Harbour Drive Cor. Bay Shore, Brgy. 076, Pasay City

TRAIPAYUNG, KULRAPAS Investigation Specialist I

Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquires

HENDRY Chinese Customer Service

ALLSECTECH MANILA, INC. 3rd Floor, Market! Market! Mall, Bonifacio Global City, City Of Taguig

KOUNIANGANA, GRACIAS AUDREY DOVET Bilingual French Analyst

Brief Job Description: Managing Incoming calls and customer service inquiries

HE, YONGJUN Chinese Customer Service

Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing Korean and English

Basic Qualification: Excellent writing, reading, listening and talking in French language, preferably with prior experience of at least 1 year in similar BPO outfit.

Brief Job Description: Managing Incoming calls and customer service inquiries

HANDOKO Chinese Customer Service

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief Job Description: Managing Incoming calls and customer service inquiries

HA VI DUONG Chinese Customer Service

17. KIM, YONGCHAE Marketing Consultant

Brief Job Description: Managing Incoming calls and customer service inquiries

FU, QIANG Chinese Customer Service

ALL OUT MULTI-MEDIA SOLUTIONS CORP. Unit 2302-a West Tower, Pse Centre, Exchange Road, Ortigas Center, San Antonio, City Of Pasig

Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing Korean and English

Brief Job Description: Managing Incoming calls and customer service inquiries

FRENGKY YULIKO Chinese Customer Service

Basic Qualification: Planning and organizing production schedules. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief Job Description: Managing Incoming calls and customer service inquiries

FRAN WIJAYA Chinese Customer Service

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

ALIF HOSSAIERY OVERRUNS INC. 2h-01 999 Shopping Mall Bldg. 1, Soldier St. 028, Barangay 293, Binondo, City Of Manila

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries

LE HUU PHUOC Chinese Customer Service 25.

Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries

LE THI THUY LINH Chinese Customer Service 26.

Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries

www.businessmirror.com.ph

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write Chinese Language

No.

LIN, JUNLIANG Chinese Customer Service 27.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write Chinese Language

28.

29.

30.

31.

32.

33.

34.

35.

36.

37.

38.

39.

40.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquires

VU ANH NAM Chinese Customer Service 41.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read and write Chinese language

Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquires

VONG SINH Chinese Customer Service

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read and write Chinese language

Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquires

TRINH KIM HOA Chinese Customer Service

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read and write Chinese language

Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquires

TRAN DUONG TUAN Chinese Customer Service

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read and write Chinese language

Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquires

SUSANTI Chinese Customer Service

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read and write Chinese language

Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquires

SURYANTI Chinese Customer Service

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read and write Chinese language

Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquires

SU, SONGMU Chinese Customer Service

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read and write Chinese language

Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquires

SANTI Chinese Customer Service

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read and write Chinese language

Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquires

PHUNG VAN THANH Chinese Customer Service

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write Chinese Language

Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquires

NGUYEN VAN TRUONG Chinese Customer Service

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language

Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquires

NGUYEN VAN PHUC Chinese Customer Service

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write Chinese Language

Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquires

NGUYEN QUOC HUY Chinese Customer Service

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write Chinese Language

Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries

MAC KIM CHI Chinese Customer Service

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write Chinese Language

Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries

LIN, YI Chinese Customer Service

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write Chinese Language

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquires

VU HUYNH DUC Chinese Customer Service 42.

Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquires

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS No.

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION VU THI THUC ANH Chinese Customer Service

43.

Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquires

XU, BIN Chinese Customer Service 44.

Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquires

YANG, XIAODONG Chinese Customer Service 45.

Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquires

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language

No.

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

YU, PENG Account Manager 55.

Brief Job Description: The Account Manager will be strategist and a leader able to steer the company to the most profitable direction while also implementing its vision, mission and long term goal.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 JIANG, YING Outsourcing Manager

ZHAO, YANG Chinese Customer Service 46.

Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquires

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language

56.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief Job Description: The Outsourcing Manager will be strategist and a leader able to steer the company to the most profitable direction while also implementing its vision, mission and long term goal.

47.

Brief Job Description: Close and grow sales through professional communication with existing and potential clients. Manage and interpret customer requirements – speaking with. Clients to understand anticipate and meet their needs communicate sales or services opportunities and customer concerns or suggestions

Basic Qualification: BSC/BA in business administration, marketing, economics or related, MSC/MA/ MBA is a plus data entry. Competency 40 wpm / or better 5-8 years exp sales experience preferred fluent in Hebrew and English Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999

LI, XUMOU Outsourcing Manager 57.

48.

Brief Job Description: Research new market and develop new growth strategy for online flower sales

Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999

58.

49.

Brief Job Description: Responsible for developing and executing commercial strategies

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 COGNIZANT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS PHILIPPINES, INC. 2nd, 3rd, And 4th Floors, Science Hub Tower 4 Bldg., Mckinley Hill Cyberpark, Fort Bonifacio, City Of Taguig PARK, KITAE Process Specialist-tech Support 50.

Brief Job Description: System Administrator for Korean Salesforce. com clients; Fluent in the Korean Language both oral and written; Must have Salesforce.com Certification; Handles clients’ case tickets

59.

51.

Brief Job Description: Maintaining the highest level of expertise in Japanese up skilling and Perform evaluations of student trainees and supervise the language teacher and student trainees learning outcome and/or development

Basic Qualification: Not less than 3 years’ experience as JAPANESE TRAINER/INTERPRETER , Highly Proficient in Japanese Language, Competent in dealing with a Japanese client, Not older than 30 Years Old Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999

Brief Job Description: Assist in the monitoring and supervision of site work to ensure compliance of technical specifications contractual and statutory obligation as well as safety regulations requirements including stipulated quality of equipment and workmanship

60.

61.

HENG SIAW WEI Mandarin Speaking Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Identify and assess customers’ needs to achieve satisfaction

XU, YANAN Mandarin Speaking Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Identify and assess customers’ needs to achieve satisfaction

LIU, XIN Mandarin Speaking Marketing Officer 62.

Brief Job Description: Optimize CRM campaigns & newsletter based on performance and engagement data

52.

53.

Brief Job Description: Immediately escalating serious complaints or issues that you are not equipped to deal with PHONG CUN LIN Vietnamese Speaking Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Immediately escalating serious complaints or issues that you are not equipped to deal with

Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading, and writing in Vietnamese

KASEREKA, DAVID NZIWA Congolaise Marketing Consultant 63.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading, and writing in Vietnamese

54.

Brief Job Description: Researches and develops various marketing strategies for products and services and implements marketing plans and works to meet sales quotas

CHAUHAN, AMIT Vice President For Inter-affiliate Services

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Bachelor’s degree with at least 3-5 years of working experience in the related field: fluent in mandarin/ basic English

65.

Brief Job Description: Perform product demonstrations for both prospective korean clients as needed

LEE, CHUNGYUL Technical Support Specialist 66.

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

Brief Job Description: Design IT Systems and networks ensuring the right architecture and functionality

Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, Reading and Writing Korean and English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Proficient in Speaking , Reading and Writing Korean and English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

LERIB SERVICES CORPORATION U-3d Rose Industries Bldg., Choice Market Ortigas, Kapitolyo, City Of Pasig

KIM, SEOYOON Customer Service Representative 67.

Brief Job Description: Customer service representative attracts potential by answering products and service questions; suggesting information about other products and services.

PACK, HYEONWOO Customer Service Representative 68.

Brief Job Description: Customer service representative attracts potential by answering products and service questions; suggesting information about other products and services.

KIM, MINGYEONG Marketing Manager 69.

Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing in Mandarin

64.

Brief Job Description: The Inter Affiliate Services (IAS) team is a centralized group within Global Supplier Services (GSS) that manages the Inter Affiliate Oversight & Governance function for several different Corporate Functions in the regions. “

Brief Job Description: Marketing manager is to promote businesses, services, products, or brands.

SONG, HAWON Operations Manager 70.

Brief Job Description: Operations manager role is mainly to implement the right processes and practices across the organization.

KIM, DONGKYU Sales Representative 71.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief Job Description: Sales representatives are responsible for communicating the benefits of a company’s products in order to drive sales.

Basic Qualification: College graduate with experience in the related position, fluent in English and Korean Hangeul. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing in Mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Preferably 6 months to 1 year marketing consultancy exp., speaks and write fluently (English).

Basic Qualification: College graduate with experience in the related position, fluent in English and Korean Hangeul. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

MEGA-WEB TECHNOLOGIES INC. 6,7,8,9,10,11/f Met Live Bldg., Edsa Cor.

72.

XIAO, MIAO Mandarin Speaking Customer Relations Service Provider Brief Job Description: Responsible for handling service support calls

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading, and writing in mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

METALEXPERTS INC. 6/f Cyberzone Bldg., #11 Eastwood Cyberpark City, Bagumbayan, Quezon City

DYMYTROVYCH, ALINA President 73.

Brief Job Description: To facilitate and guide company operations to ensure company goals are met.

Basic Qualification: College Graduate; Preferably 5 years’ experience in President position. Salary Range: Php 90,000 - Php 149,999

MIDEA CORP. Unit No. U-2 Flr. No. 8f Eighty One Newport Blvd. Bldg., Newport City, Barangay 183, Pasay City

ZHANG, HONGPENG Technical Consultant (mandarin Speaking) 74.

Brief Job Description: Documenting processes and monitoring system performance metrics.

Basic Qualification: Ability to develop and maintain internal error logs and provide support. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. 4th-11th Flr. Nexgen Tower, C4 Rd. Edsa Ext., Barangay 76, Pasay City

Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999

JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A.- PHILIPPINE GLOBAL SERVICE CENTER 23/f Net Plaza, 31st St. E-square Zone, Fort Bonifacio, City Of Taguig

EASTERN GOLD CORPORATION 503, Nueva St., Barangay 289, Binondo, City Of Manila

CHEN, ZHIYONG Marketing And Sales Agent

Brief Job Description: Ensures that the product supports the company’s overall strategy and goals

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: can contributes information, ideas, and research to help develop marketing strategies; can help to detail, design, and implement marketing plans for each product or service being offered.

Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999

J-NA ALLOUT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS CORP. 3/f Lipams Bldg., #48 President Avenue, B. F. Homes, City Of Parañaque

DIGICHROM INC. Unit 2602 & 2603 26/f Pbcom Tower, 6795 Ayala Ave., Bel-air, City Of Makati LUU THUY AN Vietnamese Speaking Customer Service Representative

HAN, SEUNG BONG Marketing Consultant

Basic Qualification: Able to speak Mandarin Chinese and English.

INQUICK SERVICES INC. Unit 606 6/f Itc Bldg., 337 Sen. Gil Puyat Ave., Bel-air, City Of Makati

Basic Qualification: Korean Language, Speaking and Writing; Salesforce.Com Certification; Native Korean Speaker Salary Range: Php 90,000 - Php 149,999

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

KINDOSAR PROCESS SOLUTIONS INC. Unit 5d, Rose Industries Bldg., Pioneer St., Kapitolyo, City Of Pasig

HAMMERTIME CONSTRUCTION INC. Unit 203-s3 2nd Flr., Fbr Arcade Bldg., Loyola Heights, Quezon City

CPDC TRAINING & TESTING CORP. Cpdc Bldg., #138 Gen. Luna St., Ususan, City Of Taguig

MIYASHITA, DAI Japanese Trainer / Interpreter

Brief Job Description: Book tickets, reserve accommodation, organize travel rental transportation.

KE, YULIAN Mandarin Site Technical Officer Basic Qualification: Can work as an independent consultant to provide marketing expertise to clients: can research industries markets, demographics trends, sales results and other data related ro the clients

Basic Qualification: Proven experience as a Outsourcing Manager, Familiarity, knowledge and awareness on Machinery and Heavy Equipment use by company, Demonstrable experience in developing strategic business plan.

GREAT ESCAPE TRAVEL CONSULTANCY CORPORATION Unit No. 2c Flr. No. 4, One E-com Bldg. Ocean Drive Moa Complex St. Zone 10 District 1, Barangay 76, Pasay City

C’EST LA VIE EVENT MANAGEMENT INC. 230, Narra Street, Marikina Heights, City Of Marikina

CHEN, LIANAN General Trade Marketing Specialist Consultant

HUANG, YUJUN Mandarin Travel Consultant Basic Qualification: Master of Science in Management

Basic Qualification: Proven experience as an Outsourcing Manager, Familiarity, knowledge and awareness on Machinery and Heavy Equipment use by company, Demonstrable experience in developing strategic business plan.

No.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

BLUE AURORA SOLUTIONS INC. 283, Haig St., Daang Bakal, City Of Mandaluyong

SARAL, OGEHAN Operations Head

Basic Qualification: Proven experience as a Account Manager, Familiarity, knowledge and awareness on Machinery and Heavy Equipment use by company, Demonstrable experience in developing strategic business plan.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

BEST RELIABLE RESOURCES CORP. Ub 111 Paseo De Roxas Bldg., Paseo De Roxas, San Lorenzo, City Of Makati

SHAUL, DORON Hebrew Technical Sales Representative

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS

FIBERHOME PHILS., INC. U-19d 19/f Rufino Pacific Tower, 6784 Ayala Ave. Cor. V.a. Rufino St., San Lorenzo, City Of Makati

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Tuesday, January 25, 2022

Basic Qualification: • Client Service focus with at least 6+ years relevant work experience in IAS, Finance, Sourcing, Third Party Oversight (TPO), Risk, Oversight & Control, Vendor Management • Preferred experience with GSS tools such as COMPASS, Ariba, and Qlikview, Cognos and knowledge of IAS and/or TPO standards” Salary Range: Php 150,000 - Php 499,999

CAO, XUFEI Chinese Customer Service 75.

Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries

CHU, JINQIANG Chinese Customer Service 76.

Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries

DUONG THI TIEN TRAM Chinese Customer Service 77.

Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquires

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

BusinessMirror

Tuesday, January 25, 2022

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS No.

78.

79.

80.

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION JIANG, YALEI Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries

JIANG, YU Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquires

LE PHU MAI ANH Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing Incoming calls and customer service inquiries

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

No.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

ZHANG, ZHONGDONG Mandarin Account Manager 96.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

81.

82.

83.

84.

85.

86.

87.

88.

89.

90.

91.

92.

93.

Brief Job Description: Managing Incoming calls and customer service inquiries

97.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write Chinese Language

MA, ZHIQUAN Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries

MENG, JIHANG Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries

NGUYEN VAN THAI Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquires

PENG, YIPING Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquires

SEE CHEE SHENG Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquires

WEI, BO Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing Incoming calls and customer service inquiries

WEN, XUE Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquires

WU, AIXI Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries

XIAO, SHIJIE Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries

XU, TAO Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries

ZHOU, PENGCHENG Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries

SHAO, WENJING Chinese Customer Specialist Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquires

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write Chinese Language

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

SHAH, SYED DANISH HUSSAIN Vice President, Sales-distributor Operations 99.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

100.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language

101.

102.

103.

104.

105.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write chinese language

106.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language

107.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

ORACLE (PHILIPPINES) CORPORATION Units 1-4 33/f Zuellig Bldg. Makati Ave., Cor. Paseo De Roxas, Urdaneta, City Of Makati 108. TAMAR, JĀRV Principal Hcm Consultant For The Nordic Countries 94.

Brief Job Description: Perform varied and complex duties and tasks that need independent judgment, in order to implement Oracle HCM to meet customer needs ensuring high quality, integrated software solutions within constraints of time and budget.

DUBOIS, FREDERIC Vice President, Agile Plm Development & Philippines Operations 95.

Brief Job Description: In charge of all Development, Quality Assurance and Product Management activities for the Agile PLM On Premise product suite.

Basic Qualification: Understanding of HR operations, policies and procedures by having around 5 years of experience acting as an HR consultant, project manager, HR specialist or equivalent position. Salary Range: Php 90,000 - Php 149,999 Basic Qualification: Strong Management and Operational skills. Extensive experience in new development and sustaining of enterprise applications. Salary Range: Php 500,000 and above

PH GLOBAL JET EXPRESS INC. 11th Floor, The Marajo Tower, 26th Street Cor. 4th Avenue Bgc, Fort Bonifacio, City Of Taguig

111.

Basic Qualification: Bachelor degree in Marketing Management, Mandarin Speaking Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999

112.

Basic Qualification: Bachelor degree in Marketing, Mandarin Speaking Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999

Brief Job Description: Maintain the operations of electronic gaming devices

OH, TAEJIN It Specialist 113.

Basic Qualification: With more than 10 years expertise indistributor and retailoperations in International and Regional Market Salary Range: Php 500,000 and above

Brief Job Description: Maintain the operations of electronic gaming devices

KIM, DAEKYUNG It Specialist

Brief Job Description: Maintain the operations of electronic gaming devices

SON, HYEYOUNG It Specialist 114.

Basic Qualification: 3 years experience as Site Lead, BPO operations, coaching, and monitoring

Brief Job Description: Maintain the operations of electronic gaming devices

Brief Job Description: Leads the strategy development and management of the company and oversees all activities of parties involved in key strategic program.

SON, JUNG YOUNG It Specialist 115.

Salary Range: Php 150,000 - Php 499,999

Basic Qualification: Minimum of 3-5 years’ work experience in the same position; with strong business acumen and organizational skills and attention to details.

CHANG, YU-WEN Mandarin Customer Service Specialist

DO THI MONG Vietnam-speaking Customer Service Officer 116.

Salary Range: Php 150,000 - Php 499,999

Brief Job Description: Customer service

GU, YUANZHENG Mandarin Customer Service Specialist Brief Job Description: Customer service

HA TUYET MI Mandarin Customer Service Specialist Brief Job Description: Customer Service

HERMAN Mandarin Customer Service Specialist Brief Job Description: Customer Service

UNG LU SANG Mandarin Customer Service Specialist Brief Job Description: Customer Service

VONG PHI HONG Mandarin Customer Service Specialist Brief Job Description: Customer Service

YANG, XINGYUE Mandarin Customer Service Specialist Brief Job Description: Customer Service

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin both oral and written

118.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin Both Oral and Written

119.

120.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

109.

Brief Job Description: To manage the daily activities of the company including budget and marketing plan

Basic Qualification: Bachelor’s degree Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

VERTEX DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT TECHNOLOGIES, INC. 1439 Adriatico Cor. Sta. Monica St., 072, Barangay 669, Ermita, City Of Manila

110.

XIE, JIANJUN Chinese It Specialist Brief Job Description: Maintain the operations of electronic gaming devices

Basic Qualification: 300 vacancy/college graduate with experience in maintain gaming devices, fluent in mandarin and English speaking Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief Job Description: Prepares product or service reports by collecting and analyzing customer information

LIN, YUEFENG Mandarin Accounts Staff 121.

Brief Job Description: Analyze and prepare revenue reports, expense reports, and others business transaction reports

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: 100 vacancy/college graduate with experience in maintain gaming devices, fluent in mandarin and English speaking Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: 100 vacancy/college graduate with experience in maintain gaming devices, fluent in mandarin and English speaking Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: 100 vacancy/college graduate with experience in maintain gaming devices, fluent in mandarin and English speaking Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: 100 vacancy/college graduate with experience in maintain gaming devices, fluent in mandarin and English speaking Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Foreign language speaking Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Foreign language speaking Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Foreign language speaking Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Foreign language speaking Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Foreign language speaking Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

122.

Basic Qualification: Proficient language skills and skills match to job Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Proficient language skills and skills match to job

YANG, TAO Mandarin Marketing Specialist Brief Job Description: Undertake market research

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

ZIGMA ASTAZONE INTERNATIONAL CORP. (ZIGMA ASTAZONE) Level 10-1 Fort Legend Tower, 31st Street Corner 3rd Avenue, Bonifacio Global City, Fort Bonifacio, City Of Taguig

UNITED DOUGLAS PHARM PHILIPPINES, INC. U-2502-b East Tower, Psec Exchange Rd., San Antonio, City Of Pasig OH, HEASUN General Manager

Basic Qualification: 100 vacancy/college graduate with experience in maintain gaming devices, fluent in mandarin and English speaking

WIKITECH SERVICES INC. Unit 25d 2/f Zeta Ii Bldg., 191 Salcedo St., San Lorenzo, City Of Makati

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin Both Oral and Written

Brief Job Description: Prepares product or service reports by collecting and analyzing customer information

VU DUC DIEN Vietnam-speaking Customer Service Officer

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief Job Description: Prepares product or service reports by collecting and analyzing customer information TRAN DANG NAM Vietnam-speaking Customer Service Officer

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin Both Oral and Written

Brief Job Description: Prepares product or service reports by collecting and analyzing customer information NGUYEN HONG TIEN Vietnam-speaking Customer Service Officer

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief Job Description: Prepares product or service reports by collecting and analyzing customer information DOAN THI THU Vietnam-speaking Customer Service Officer

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin both oral and written

Brief Job Description: Maintain the operations of electronic gaming devices

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

VPC CORPORATE SOLUTIONS INCORPORATED 11/f 100 West, Sen Gil Puyat Ave. Cor., Washington St., Pio Del Pilar, City Of Makati

117.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write chinese language

Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

HWANG, HYUNSUK It Specialist

SPEED QUALITY TECH INC. 20/f Techzone Bldg., 213 Sen. Gil Puyat Ave., San Antonio, City Of Makati

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write chinese language

Brief Job Description: Manage operations, clients, business reviews, and governance

MALANI, KARAN KUMAR Director Of Corporate Strategy

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write chinese language

No.

Basic Qualification: Bachelor degree in Accounting, Mandarin Speaking

SOUTHEASTASIA RETAIL INC. 1890 Paz M Guazon St. Otis, 090, Barangay 831, Paco, City Of Manila

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write Chinese Language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief Job Description: Transformation of the distributor operations business in P&G Philippines.

KHATRY, MUDDASSAR Program Director

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

PSG GLOBAL SOLUTIONS, INC. 14/f Multinational Bancorp, 6805 Ayala Ave., Bel-air, City Of Makati

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief Job Description: Monitor the day-to-day marketing operations within the company, such as market data on a local, regional or national level, through the use of Mandarin native language

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS

PROCTER & GAMBLE PHILIPPINES, INC. 10f Seven/neo, 5th Ave., Crescent Park West, Bonifacio Global City, Fort Bonifacio, City Of Taguig

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief Job Description: The employees is engaged to provide significant support, though the use Mandarin native language, to senior professionals in China HE, XUCHAO Mandarin Marketing Specialist

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief Job Description: Building and maintaining strong, long-lasting customer relationships and engaged to provide significant support, though the use Mandarin native language PAN, CUNZHU Mandarin Business Development Manager

98. LYU, CHANGFU Chinese Customer Service

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

www.businessmirror.com.ph

STEVANO SALINO Warehouse Manager 123.

Brief Job Description: Act as Warehouse Manager and perform other related functions

Basic Qualification: Knowledge in motorcycle parts, bachelor’s degree, warehousing Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 *Date Generated: Jan 24, 2022

Any person in the Philippines who is competent, able and willing to perform the services for which the foreign national is desired may file an objection at DOLE National Capital Region located at DOLE-NCR Building, 967 Maligaya St., Malate Manila, within 30 days after this publication. Please inform DOLE National Capital Region if you have any information on criminal offense committed by the foreign nationals.

ATTY. SARAH BUENA S. MIRASOL REGIONAL DIRECTOR

News BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Oil companies raise pump fuel prices for 4th consecutive week By Lenie Lectura

@llectura

UEL pump prices are on the rise for the fourth consecutive week. Oil firms announced Monday that gasoline prices will increase by P1.45 per liter, diesel by P1.90 per liter, kerosene by P1.70 per liter. Seaoil, Phoenix, Petron, PTT, Shell, Caltex, Total said they will implement the price hike at 6 a.m. of Tuesday, January 25. Cleanfuel, meanwhile, will implement the price increase at 4:01 p.m. of Tuesday. Including this week’s price hike, gasoline prices have gone up by P4.95 per liter, diesel by P7.2 per liter, and kerosene by P6.7 per liter since the start of the year. Oil firms adjust their prices weekly to reflect movements in the world oil market. The Department of Energy (DOE) maintained the ongoing conflict in Eastern Europe and the Middle East has affected supply disruption. Also, OPEC and its allies continued to struggle to raise output.

Tuesday, January 25, 2022 A9

BI report: Chinese nationals are top immigration law ‘violators’ in 2021 By Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573

TOTAL of 158 aliens were arrested by operatives of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) in 2021, 86 of them Chinese nationals, for violation of immigration laws.

BI Commissioner Jaime Morente said the number is lower than the 510 arrested in 2020, which can be attributed to the imposition of travel restrictions for arriving foreigners due to the lingering Covid-19 pandemic. Statistics showed that next to Chinese nationals were Koreans

with 37 arrests and Nigerians with 10 arrests. O t her n at ion a l s a r rested were six Indians, four Americans, four British, three Japanese, two Indonesians, a Dutch, a German, a Tunisian, a Cambodian, a Lebanese and a Singaporean. The illegal aliens were arrested

in numerous operations conducted by members of the BI’s Intelligence Division in different areas nationwide. “Since only those with valid and existing long-term visas are allowed entry in the country, we saw a major decrease in the number of foreign nationals in the Philip-

pines,” Morente observed. “Apart from that, many of those who were already in the country were repatriated back to their homelands,” he added. The BI earlier reported 83 foreign fugitives arrested by the BI’s fugitive search unit, bringing the total arrested aliens to 241.

Davao City breaches 1,000-mark in daily coronavirus cases as infections surge

AVAO CITY—This city has breached the 1,000 mark of residents infected by the Covid-19 that has been going on for one week already amid medical experts’ warning that the surge may likely last up to the middle of March. “We are now on the second week of a surge and we are not yet on the peak,” Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio said on her regular Monday radio program. Infectionsreachingthe1,000mark were first recorded on January 19,

with 1,197 cases on a 39.9 percent positivity rate. It hovered above the 1,000 mark every day with the highest recorded number at 1,540 on January 20 and by January 23, the number was still above the mark at 1,395 cases, and with 50 percent positivity rate. In the previous critical surge in September last year, the number of cases in the city was in the average of less than 500, with two days reaching 700 and one day of hav-

ing 617 cases, and with positivity averaging 30 percent. This week, some 57 of 182 barangays were placed in critical risk category, running from north to south coastal areas and going into the interior beyond the población areas. Duterte-Carpio said physicians under the Covid-19 cluster told her that the level of active cases would likely climbupfurthertothelevelof14,000.As of January 23, the active cases in the city were more than 8,000, part of the

10,877 active cases for the entire Davao region. “That means we are not yet in the peak,” she said, quoting medical experts as saying. As of January 23, some 889 beds remained available from the 2,606 total beds in quarantine and isolation facilities. Many of the Covid-19 patients were allowed to be in house isolation for as long the residences qualified in the Department of Health’s minimum quality benchmark for home quarantine. The

mayor said 822 of houses have been locked down. One building was also placed on lockdown as with one compound.Some1,112personnelwerealso assigned to monitor these locked down houses and building. She said the city continued to rely on the memory of patients, including their honesty, on identifying possible close contacts. However, the capacity to test was also hampered by the supply of test kits, she added. Manuel T. Cayon

Lacson, a deadline non-believer, says ‘just do job well and success follows’ By Butch Fernandez @butchfBM

EN. Panfilo Lacson, eyeing to win the upcoming presidential derby, shuns deadlines saying he goes by the simple formula that just “do the job well and success follows.” The Partido Reporma chairman and standard-bearer, Lacson said he will not be “confined to a particular timeframe to accomplish the goals” that he himself set for his administration, citing the problem of illegal drugs, once elected to the presidency. In a televised interview Monday, Lacson affirmed he “would not impose a deadline in his own anti-illegal drugs campaign but would rather let the law enforcement authorities under his command do their jobs well.” “We don’t need to impose a deadline,” Lacson said, adding, “We just have to do and execute [our strategies] well. And even if

we don’t have a deadline, success will follow or the accomplishment of our mission, so to speak. I don’t believe in deadlines.” The senator-presidential bet affirmed that “doing something at your own pace is more effective towards achieving a particular task,” recalling that this is what he learned when he led the Philippine National Police (PNP) and made it a mission for the organization to eliminate corruption. “I don’t believe in deadlines, whether self-imposed or by someone else,” he added, recalling that “when I was Chief PNP, I just thought about ending ‘kotong’ [extortion]. I did not impose a deadline but within four months, police extortions in the streets were gone; within four months I was able to reform the police force.” At the same time, Lacson stressed anew that his “war on drugs” campaign would be led by his

running mate, Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, assuring that “it would be a complete departure from what incumbent President Rodrigo Duterte has done which only focused on the law enforcement side of the issue.” The Senate President affirmed that under the Lacson-Sotto administration, “Filipinos can expect a more comprehensive and holistic approach in resolving the drug problem through simultaneous demand and supply reduction strategies without the PNP resorting to unnecessary extrajudicial killings [EJK].” Sotto III pointed out that “what our current administration forgot is the area of prevention and rehabilitation [as it] put too much focus on law enforcement,’’ lamenting that he considered it “a missed opportunity for a president who was given the highest mandate and enjoys an overwhelming, unprecedented popularity.”

FOR HEALTH-CARE WORKERS

Dr. Irineo “Bong” Alvaro Jr. (second from right), World Medical Relief Association (WMRA) Ambassador of Health on Friday, January 21, turned over the donation of WMRA Team Philippines to Mabalacat City Mayor Crisostomo Garbo (second from left) at the City Hall in Xevera, Barangay Tabun. The donations include, shipped from Michigan US by Capampangan WMRA President George Samson— include five boxes of PPEs such as disposable medical gowns, N95 face masks and gloves for the use of health-care and frontline workers of Mabalacat City. With them are City Administrator Frank Madlangbayan and WMRA Communications Director Noel G. Tulabut. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Importation not key to fish Neda chief vows to push 3 priorities for rest of term shortage–lawmakers to DA continued from a12

“More than half of animal protein consumption [60 percent] of the country comes from fish or seafood. Over a million Filipinos are engaged in marine fishing. Of these, an estimated 800,000 are small-scale fishermen using traditional, low-cost techniques, notably net fishing from small boats and the fish corral. “And yet, we fail to give the most support to small-scale fisheries where livelihoods are under most immediate pressure from marine resource competition and degradation. We cannot reach our Sustainable Development Goals if we are only looking at the macro and not the micro,” Legarda said.

‘Odette’ factor

THE DA earlier said the country needed more than 800,000 MT of fish to meet the demand for January to March 2022, mainly to stabilize supply and keep prices in the wet markets from soaring. One reason cited for the possible price spike was the onslaught of Typhoon “Odette” which caused P3.97 billion in damage, and affected numerous coastal and fishing communities. Additionally, there is the closed fishing season implemented by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Re-

sources (BFAR) every year in the country’s major fishing areas to allow fish species to spawn and recover. The closed fishing season impacts prices. To illustrate, retail prices of galunggong in Metro Manila averaged between P250 and P260 a kilo last week. “I urge the government and the private sector, to rapidly mobilize and implement support mechanisms for small-scale fishers, coastal fishing communities, and associated people’s organizations,” Legarda added. “Our fishers in the coastal villages face a range of environmental challenges due to coastal erosion, mangrove destruction, the endangered species trade and, most seriously, overfishing. There is a need to consider the impact of illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing practices. These are the reasons for our dwindling supply. Rather than using government resources to import more fish, why don’t we use these resources to ensure marine resource sustainability and livelihood security in coastal communities? Why not safeguard pollution control and environmental conservation through strict enforcement of marine fisheries laws?” she said.

“The Philippines will soon become an upper-middle income country. To sustain this level of development and eventually reach high-income country status, we need to innovate. If we are to simply copy or assemble products, without any innovation, then we will have difficulty achiev-

ing our next stage of development,” he said. Lastly, Chua said Neda is also prioritizing climate change adaptation and mitigation by putting it as a cornerstone of its policy framework. “Everything we do in the envi-

DOLE excludes flexi-workers from 3rd CAMP continued from a12

Tutay said they expect the number of firms and workers who could avail of CAMP 2022 to increase in the coming days as the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease (IATF) placed more areas under Alert Level 3 and 4.

Additional budget

TUTAY said they may consider increasing the budget for CAMP 2022 in case more than 200,000 workers applied for the program. “We will look at the situation on a quarterly basis and will look at the [number of applications] reports on the movement of establishments to serve as basis if there will be a need for additional

funding,” Tutay. DOLE has a P26.5-billion allocation under its social protection budget for 2022, where it could get additional funds for its CAMP. Tutay, however, said they hope the P1 billion will not be exhausted, especially since the year has just started and they are still looking to fund other programs to provide long-term jobs to workers. “Doleouts [by their] very nature are just a safety net and will not really be sufficient for the needs of our people,” Tutay said. “We would much prefer that we will be able to provide them permanent [livelihood] to help in the recovery [of our economy],” she added.

ronment, education, agriculture, transportation, energy, and governance would revolve around protecting or enhancing the livability of the people, whether it is on planet earth or in the Philippines,” Chua said. “So I leave you those three im-

continued from a1

portant priorities that we hope we can work together in the coming months, and that the next administration will continue. I hope the new board of FINEX and your members will be fully supportive of this collaboration,” he added. Bernadette D. Nicolas

House OKs PHL maritime trade bill on 2nd reading continued from a12 The bill also prohibits any international carriers or its agent or port or terminal operator to operate under an agreement that has been suspended by virtue of an order of a proper authority, or a temporar y restraining order or rendered ineffective by injunction issued by the court. It prohibits any international carrier or its agent, port or terminal operator, NVOCC, forwarder, or logistic services provider, either alone or in connivance with another to, directly or indirectly, charge, demand, collect, or receive greater, less or different compensation for the transportation of property or for any service in

connection therewith than the rates and charges provided in the service contract or those published and filed with the Marina. The measure prohibits any international carrier or its agent, port or terminal operator, NVOCC, forwarder, or logistic services provider, either alone or in connivance with another, directly or indirectly to engage in any anti-competition practice within the scope of the Republic Act No. 10667 or the Philippine Competition Act. It, meanwhile, mandates the Marina to prescribe the fines and penalties for the violation of the provisions of this proposal or its guidelines. Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

A10 Tuesday, January 25, 2022 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

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editorial

DSWD’s 71 years of trusted service

he Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is celebrating its 71st founding anniversary this January with an International Organization for Standardization certification affirming its quality standards in the delivery of social welfare and development programs and services. For seven decades, the DSWD has consistently earned the public’s trust in performing its mandate to meet the varying social welfare and development needs of the poor, vulnerable, marginalized, and disadvantaged sectors. In the 2021 Philippine Trust Index, the DSWD was among the public and private institutions most trusted by the public with a trust rating index of 88 percent. Despite the many challenges affecting the delivery of social welfare and development programs and services amid the pandemic, the DSWD managed to sustain the trust of the public through its efficient ways of reaching out to the sectors that it serves. In a span of 71 years, the DSWD has developed and implemented milestone programs such as the Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services; Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services; Self-Employment Assistance Kaunlaran Program that later evolved into the Sustainable Livelihood Program; Supplementary Feeding Program; Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program; Social Pension Program; Yakap Bayan Program; Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation; Disaster Response Programs; and the Social Amelioration Program. The Department also advocated milestone policies such as the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act; Senior Citizens Act; Centenarian’s Act; 4Ps Act; Magna Carta for Social Workers; An Act Establishing the Social Welfare Attaché; and, the National Commission on Senior Citizens Act. The DSWD recently revived its Performance Governance Scorecard to improve systems and processes to ensure quality service. PGS is a holistic and collaborative framework for designing, executing, monitoring, and sustaining roadmaps to reforms. For this effort, the DSWD was recently accorded a Silver Trailblazer Award, which is given to an institution with breakthrough results; with regular progress reports on strategy; regular process coaching for lower level units; presence of rewards mechanisms; and with initiatives led by its Multi-Sectoral Governance Council partners. In compliance with the Mandanas ruling, the agency is going through extensive reengineering of its systems, practices and processes in preparation for the full devolution of frontline programs. It developed a transition plan to effect the implementation of programs to the local government units, which includes strengthening the mechanism for the provision of technical assistance and resource augmentation to the LGUs. The DSWD will be celebrating these milestones with a simple recognition of its employees, the Angel’s in Red Vest, who helped achieve the Department’s accomplishments. They will be recognized through the conferment of the Programs on Awards and Incentives for Service Excellence (PRAISE), which is the agency’s way of thanking exemplary staff for their hard work. The PRAISE recognition is especially significant in giving importance to the service provided by the DSWD employees despite the health hazards posed by the pandemic. As frontliners in service delivery, many of its employees were infected with Covid-19, yet they continued to provide the much-needed services. As the country’s need for more social welfare and development services was magnified by the pandemic and other disasters, the presence of DSWD partners and stakeholders greatly helped in fulfilling the agency’s mandate. To show its gratitude, the DSWD will be conducting a simple online awarding activity for its partners through the Pagkilala sa Natatanging Kontribusyon sa Bayan or the PaNaTa Ko sa Bayan Awards. Seven decades of genuine public service may have given the DSWD its sterling track record. However, the Department remains cognizant of the fact that constant learning and improvement will have to be done in order to cope and adapt to the new challenges of the new normal. Upholding its “Maagap at Mapagkalingang Serbisyo” mantra, DSWD takes its 71year milestone as a fresh step towards making the agency better at public service in order to sustain public trust. Thus, every DSWD Angel in Red Vest is expected to carry on the tradition of hard work and trustworthy public service that the Department has been consistently delivering to the sectors that it serves for the last seven decades.

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ovid-19 cases seem to have plateaued late last week after surging rapidly in the first two weeks of January. The statistical downtrend and the big number of daily recoveries we are seeing are clear signs that we may be over the hump in this latest pandemic wave. Both the Department of Health and independent OCTA Research have noticed the declining trend. The weekly growth rate of Covid-19 cases in Metro Manila is down 10 percent although the daily Covid cases in the rest of the Philippines are still rising, albeit at a slower rate. Barring any unforeseen scenarios, the optimist in me sees that the worst is over. The Omicron strain is still here but we have checked its surge. More importantly, we did not panic and the government held its rein. The state also did not resort to a widespread lockdown of the economy, preferring to implement the more effective granular or selective lockdowns. The downward trend of cases in the Philippines mirrors the current developments in the United States and some parts of Europe, where the

Omicron first struck hard. These developed nations, especially the UK, are slowly reopening their economy after a relatively low hospitalization rate. The Omicron variant, despite being more infectious than the Delta strain, has not overwhelmed our hospitals and health-care workers. Just 50 percent of the nation’s ICU beds were occupied while 51 percent of isolation beds were in use as of last week. About 54 percent of ward beds were occupied while 24 percent of ventilators were in use. In Metro Manila, 51 percent of ICU beds, 47 percent of isolation beds, 58 percent of ward beds and 29 percent of ventilators were in use. Authorities use these hospitalization data as their guide in deciding the level of Covid-19 restrictions in a particular region. With the leveling

‘Bad moon rising’

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We should prepare for the return of Level 2

OUTSIDE THE BOX

umans may be much “smarter” today, but they may also have been much “wiser” in the past. Much of the “smart” of the past was the understanding and acceptance of the way the world works. The “wise” of today is the result of immense advances in technology. If you leave Los Angeles in a boat or airplane and set a compass course for Honolulu, Hawaii, even being off by only a few degrees at the beginning of your journey will take you so far away from your destination as if Honolulu never existed. We now use the virtually constant updating satellite Global Positioning System to reach our goal. Yet the Polynesians, sharing the same origins as the indigenous peoples of Taiwan, Southeast Asia (especially the Philippines, Malaysia, and eastern Indonesia), and Madagascar sailed from South East Asia settling

in Hawaii, one of the most remote places on Earth, around 1100 A.D. The Polynesians had learned the subtle cycles of how waves perform in vast open oceans as they hit and then bounce-off landmasses, even relatively tiny islands. The point is that we have all these amazing devices that can accurately measure the universe, telling us centuries in advance—and also backwards—the timing of eclipses and comets. But the most accurate records of Halley begin in 12 BC in China. Our ancestors observed, understood, and then projected the natu-

of Covid-19 cases and a clear drop in the growth rate in infections, it may be prudent now to prepare for a return to Alert Level 2, at least in Metro Manila. Most of the infected people are isolating themselves at home and are suffering mildly from the Omicron variant—presumably because over a majority of the people in the capital region have been vaccinated. We can possibly adopt a hybrid Level 2 with some Level 3 restrictions retained. Authorities may keep some of the Level 3 restrictions under Level 2, especially in establishments where social distancing is more difficult to avoid. They may, in the meantime, restrict some social events under Level 2 until Omicron blows away. The return to Level 2 with some Level 3 restrictions hopefully will give confidence to our consumers. More importantly, the less restrictive measures will enable many of our workers in fast-food restaurants, bars, hotels and other commercial establishments to regain their full job. I have heard of stories from restaurant crew agreeing to a skeleton work force in their dining establishments. They have been asked to report only three times a week because of low sales. The arrangement, while reasonable, is a serious blow to our workers because of the no-work, nopay labor policy. The pandemic has wreaked havoc on the labor sector following the early lockdown episodes that shut

down the economy before. Thus, we should be more lenient with our workers, who are the backbone of our economy. We should also be sensitive to their plight. The no vaccine-no ride policy on public transportation, while commendable in efforts to inoculate as many Filipinos as possible, must be handled with care. I have heard from radio reports that authorities had prevented those with only one vaccination jab from using the public transportation. This should not be the case. Many Filipinos are still not fully vaccinated, especially from towns and municipalities outside of Metro Manila. But I am pleased that the Department of Transportation clarified the policy. It now allows workers, whether they are vaccinated or not, to use public transportation because their work or job is essential to the economy. The country’s vaccination rate, meanwhile, must proceed as fast as possible to keep the Philippines safe from Covid-19. I personally commend local government units for being pro-active in the vaccination rollout. We should find ways to make the vaccines accessible to the unvaccinated. The battle against Covid-19 is a concerted effort. We are all in this together.

ral world through the cycles they found. There was no questioning the cycles once enough of them had been recorded. With proper knowledge and experience we could sail the oceans watching the waves as the Polynesian’s once did. Sailors are still required to learn Celestial navigation depending on their duties on the ship. Just because we are so smart about the natural cycles, no one would think himself so wise as to be able to change them. However, we still would prefer to think that we have incredible control of the nature. Just ask any global warming “expert”. But then ask them about this. Lloyd D. Keigwin’s 1996 study of radiocarbon-dated box core data from marine sediments in the Sargasso Sea found that its sea surface temperature was approximately 1°C (1.8°F) cooler approximately 400 years ago, during the Little Ice Age, and was approximately 1°C warmer 1,000 years ago, during the Medieval Warm Period. Cycles. William Strauss and Neil Howe created the Generational theory that discusses the history of the US and later the world as a succession

of generational biographies. Each generational persona unleashes a new era (called a turning) lasting around 20–25 years, part of a larger cyclical “saeculum” (a long human life, which usually spans between 80 and 100 years. We are in the Fourth Turning of Crisis, which began in 2008 with the Global Financial Crisis. Here is what happens. “Institutions will be increasingly bossy, limiting personal freedoms, chastising bad manners, and cleansing the culture. Powerful new civic organizations will make judgments about which individual rights deserve respect and which do not. Criminal justice will become swift and rough, trampling on some innocents to protect an endangered and desperate society from those feared to be guilty. Expect a loss of personal privacy.” Sounds familiar. You can’t fight it, but you can prepare and therefore beat it. Note that the US dollar has lost 7.5 percent of its purchasing power since 2020, as Powell and his cronies have lost control of inflation. It is not a coincidence this Fourth Turning was launched due to the Federal Reserve and Wall See “Mangun,” A11

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Welcome foreign corporations

Happy birthday, President Cory!

President Cory recalled that when she campaigned in slum areas or impoverished villages, people came to her with one cry: Democracy! “Not food, although they clearly needed it, but democracy. Not work, although they surely wanted it, but democracy. Not money, for they gave me what little they had for my campaign.”

An undetermined number of people lined up along the streets where the funeral march passed from Manila to Parañaque. She was buried at the Manila Memorial Park in Parañaque, next to her beloved husband, the former Sen. Ninoy Aquino. The dearly departed couple’s resting place, now joined by President Noynoy’s remains, may not be located in the Libingan ng Mga Bayani but it has become a shrine where every democratic-loving person can visit and reflect. Many of our genuine heroes and heroines were buried in unknown and unmarked graves but their greatness has not been forgotten by their countrymen. To paraphrase a writer, it is glory that lights the hero’s tomb, not the selfserving adulation of a hack. President Cory was the first woman to be elected president of the Philippines. Her election was the toughest electoral battle waged against an incumbent president. When she ran against an authoritarian ruler who commanded all the resources of government and the fanatical support of the military, everyone regarded the presidential snap election held on February 7, 1986 as a walk in the park for President Ferdinand E. Marcos. Despite the short campaign period of 45 days from December 19, 1985 to February 5, 1986, President Cory covered the entire archipelago extensively despite her limited lo-

and fair manner” largely due to the pressure and influence of President Marcos and his regime. After further investigations, the international team of observers cited irregularities in the polls such as: “Vote-buying, intimidation, snatching of ballot boxes, tampered election returns and the disenfranchisement of thousands of voters”. Several people were killed in their valiant efforts to protect the integrity of the ballots during the snap elections. Prominent among them were Evelio Javier, Fernando Pastor, Sr., Francisco Jaurella, Jeremias de Jesus and many others who had displayed unflinching courage and heroism in the face of daunting risks. They sacrificed their lives to restore our democratic way of life. President Cory led massive protests across the land. Boycott of businesses supportive of the corrupt and despotic administration ensued. Disgruntled elements of the military revolted against the Marcos rule, eventually leading to the Edsa Revolution that toppled the dictator from power. In her speech before the joint session of US Congress in Washington, DC on September 18, 1986, President Cory lauded her people when she said: “You saw a nation, armed with courage and integrity, stand fast by democracy against threats and corruption. You saw women poll watchers break out in tears as armed goons crashed their polling places to steal the ballots, but just the same, they tied themselves to the ballot boxes.” Many Filipinos who did not witness and live the horrors of the assassination of Ninoy Aquino and the historic events that followed after August 21, 1983 until the People Power

Manny F. Dooc

TELLTALES

Atty. Irwin C. Nidea Jr.

Tax law for business

ur country needs to attract foreign investments if we want our economy to grow. This would mean creation of more jobs and business opportunities for our people. A foreign corporation can establish its presence in the country in many ways, i.e., regional operating headquarters (ROHQ), regional headquarters (RHQ) and representative office, among others.

In a recent case (GR 226287, dated July 6. 2021), the Supreme Court (SC) laid down the difference between an ROHQ, RHQ, and a representative office. These distinctions are important so that foreign investors are given a clear understanding of what company vehicle suits their purpose and the tax implications of the same. According to the SC, an ROHQ is allowed by law to perform activities that generate income in the Philippines. These activities, termed as “qualifying services,” include the following: (1) general administration and planning; (2) business planning and coordination; (3) sourcing/ procurement of raw materials and components; (4) corporate finance advisory services; (5) marketing control and sales promotion; ( 6) training and personnel management; (7) logistics services; (8) research and development services, and product development; (9) technical support and maintenance; (10) data processing and communication; and (11) business development. Similar to an RHQ, an ROHQ performs services only with the head office’s affiliates, branches or subsidiaries. According to the SC, ROHQs are also prohibited by law to directly or indirectly market the goods and services of their mother company and its affiliates. Also, as regards taxes, since an ROHQ is primarily engaged in activities that generate income in the Philippines, it is considered a taxable entity. In this case, the SC summarized the similarities and differences of a representative office, an RHQ, and an ROHQ: 1. A representative office and an RHQ are not allowed to engage in any income-generating activities in the Philippines. An ROHQ, on the other hand, provides qualifying services that generate income in the Philippines. 2. A representative office and an RHQ do not earn or derive income in the Philippines. An ROHQ is allowed to derive income in the Philippines. 3. Unlike an RHQ and an ROHQ, a representative office deals directly with the parent company’s clients and not with the affiliates, branches, or subsidiaries. 4. Under the Tax Code, as amended, RHQs are exempt from both income tax and value added tax so long as they do not render any of the qualifying services, whereas ROHQs shall be subject to a tax rate of 10 percent of their taxable income from its qualifying services and 12 percent VAT. The SC added that a representative office, while not defined under the Tax Code, is akin to an RHQ and not to an ROHQ. A representative office is only allowed under the law to undertake activities such as but not limited to information dissemination, promotion of the parent company’s products as well as quality control of products. These activities, while directed to the parent company’s clients, are not income generating, similar to the activities of an RHQ and in contrast with the qualifying services performed by

Mangun. . .

Continued from A10

Street bankers blowing the largest debt bubble in history. Roughly 40 percent of NASDAQ stocks (and Bitcoin almost) are down 50+ percent from their 52-week highs for the worst January on record. When

The SC added that a representative office, while not defined under the Tax Code, is akin to an RHQ and not to an ROHQ. A representative office is only allowed under the law to undertake activities such as but not limited to information dissemination, promotion of the parent company’s products as well as quality control of products. ROHQs. As such, a representative office should be treated and taxed in the same manner as an RHQ and not an ROHQ. According to the SC, since a representative office is primarily engaged in non-income generating activities like an RHQ, it should be considered exempt from income tax and VAT. How can a taxpayer prove that it is a representative office? First, it may show that it is fully subsidized by its head office. All costs associated with establishing and maintaining a representative office are covered by remittances from the parent company. Second, the representative office deals directly with the clients of its head office as it undertakes activities limited to information dissemination, promotion of the parent company’s products, including the conduct of quality control. For example, in this case, all inquiries from Philippine clients are routed to its Japan head office, which, in turn, makes the final decisions. As a representative office, the taxpayer promotes and provides information about the products offered by its head office, but it does not enter into contracts on its own. According to the SC, such contracts are referred to its parent company, which then enters into a contract with the clients within the Philippines. The Japan parent company is responsible for all negotiations regarding the price, payment terms, and delivery of the product. In fine, the taxpayer’s role is limited to introducing the parent company’s products to clients in the Philippines. The clear distinctions made by the SC should serve as a guide not only to foreign investors but to the tax authorities as well. The cited case came about because a representative office was assessed for income tax and VAT when it is clearly tax exempt. If we want to build foreign investment confidence, unfounded tax assessments must be avoided. The author is a senior partner of Du-Baladad and Associates Law Offices, a member-firm of WTS Global. The article is for general information only and is not intended, nor should be construed as a substitute for tax, legal or financial advice on any specific matter. Applicability of this article to any actual or particular tax or legal issue should be supported therefore by a professional study or advice. If you have any comments or questions concerning the article, you may e-mail the author at irwin.c.nideajr@ bdblaw.com.ph or call 8403-2001 local 330.

interest rates rise in March (or sooner), the bad moon will rise. So, you have two months to prepare. And by that, I mean, stock up on popcorn and watch the West potentially burn. T.G.Y.F. E-mail me at mangun@gmail.com. Follow me on Twitter @mangunonmarkets. PSE stock-market information and technical analysis provided by AAA Southeast Equities Inc.

Tuesday, January 25, 2022 A11

oday marks the 89th birth anniversary of the late icon, President Corazon Cojuangco Aquino. President Cory would be 89 years old today if she were still alive. Our oldest living former president, President Fidel V. Ramos who succeeded her in office, who is now 93 years old is older by four years. She died at the age of 76 on August 1, 2009 after she was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 2008. Her family declined the government’s offer for a state funeral but her wake was held at the Manila Cathedral where a throng of people paid their last respects. Just like her martyred husband, President Cory’s flag-draped casket was borne on a flatbed truck enroute to her tomb during the funeral procession joined by hundreds of thousands of people. gistics. Her meeting de avance held in Rizal Park on the eve of the election saw a mammoth crowd of over a million people clad in yellow. The entire opposition rallied behind her with the erstwhile leading contender, Sen. Doy Laurel, giving way to her to unite all anti-Marcos elements. Massive irregularities were committed despite the presence of international election observers and media led by US Sen. Richard Lugar and other prominent observers. The official poll body, the Comelec, declared Marcos the winner with over 1.5 million plurality votes over President Cory. On the other hand, NAMFREL, before its counting of votes was stopped, had President Cory leading by over half a million votes. Lifting from the reports of journalist Tom Brokaw in his “NBC Nightly News”, Brokaw said: “The courage and the essential goodness of Corazon Aquino was so impressive in her battle against enormous odds. And the bravery of her followers—many of whom were killed as they pursued their belief in a true democracy… Through television cameras and newspapers, the whole world was watching. President Marcos could lie and cheat, but in the end he could not hide.” This was affirmed by the International Observer Delegation who alleged that the “election of February 7 was not conducted in a free

erupted on February 21 to 25, 1986, will have little regard for the fateful events that reshaped our country’s destiny. In her introduction to the “Reports of the Fact-Finding Board on the Assassination of Sen. Benigno S. Aquino, Jr.,” the late Letty Jimenez Magsanoc wrote: “When Sen. Benigno S. Aquino was shot and killed, even the furious rains of August conceded to the brightness of the day that was Sunday, August 21, 1983; the unspeakable treachery attending the darkest deed was without parallel in Philippine history. … Those of us who lived through the shock and grief of the assassination and the searing days after, know how and why it happened. But our children and generations of other Filipinos will have to be told. They have to be told because they must be forewarned “of what unchecked evil would be capable of doing.” We who know have the obligation to tell our young voters to inform them that we should not allow despots to rule our country and steal our democracy. Instead, they should elect leaders who will safeguard our freedom. President Cory recalled that when she campaigned in slum areas or impoverished villages, people came to her with one cry: Democracy! “Not food, although they clearly needed it, but democracy. Not work, although they surely wanted it, but democracy. Not money, for they gave me what little they had for my campaign.” After 21 years under a tyrant, people long for freedom most of all. In a speech delivered before the UN General Assembly on September 22, 1986, President Cory left this wise counsel for us to ponder: “I believe that no government can indefinitely resist a people united against it. It may have the guns, the goons and the gold, yet as we found in the Philippines, there is no government that can indefinitely resist a people determined to be free.” President Cory did not have an army, a well-oiled political machinery or awesome resources but she ousted a well-entrenched regime from power. She had shown us the way with her audacity and indomitable spirit. Let’s honor her today by living up to her legacy.

Putin could burst Xi’s Olympic dream with a war in Ukraine By Alberto Nardelli & Evgenia Pismennaya Bloomberg Opinion

S the US and Europe mount increasingly frantic efforts to deter Russia from any invasion of Ukraine, it’s Chinese President Xi Jinping who may have the biggest influence on Vladimir Putin’s timetable. The Russian president has said he will join Xi at the opening ceremony Feb. 4 of the Beijing Winter Olympics, where the Chinese leader has lavished billions of dollars to showcase his nation’s superpower status to the world. The last thing Xi would need is for Putin to overshadow China’s big moment by triggering a global security crisis with the US and Europe, analysts say. That’s especially the case given Xi is looking to bolster his prestige at home as he seeks endorsement for an unprecedented third term later this year. The nations have often had each other’s backs on the global stage. They’ve worked in concert to block United Nations Security Council resolutions critical of either, and aligned on collective issues like North Korea. They reveled in the messy US withdrawal from Afghanistan. And they’ve largely stayed neutral on actions declared to be in the other’s national interest—such as Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014. Xi called Putin an “old friend” when they chatted in mid December, while the Russian leader hailed what he said was a “responsible joint approach to solving urgent global issues.” But kicking off an invasion of Ukraine in the middle of Xi’s Olympic moment could throw a wrench into such warmth, and risk drawing

China into the diplomatic fray. It’s possible Xi asked Putin in their recent call not to invade Ukraine during the Games, according to one diplomat in Beijing who asked not to be identified talking about such scenarios. China’s embassy in Russia on Saturday dismissed that prospect, adding Beijing has advocated for a solution to the issues via the framework of the Minsk peace accords. Putin has repeatedly denied he currently intends to attack Ukraine. China’s Foreign Ministry underscored the importance Beijing attaches to the issue at a Jan. 14 news briefing. All countries should observe a traditional UN Olympic Truce resolution “from seven days before the start of the Olympic Games until seven days after the end of the Paralympic Games,” a spokesman said. That’s a window spanning from Jan. 28 to March 20, when eastern Ukraine’s frozen winter landscape begins to turn to cloying mud in spring thaws that military analysts in Moscow and the West believe would hinder a rapid Russian incursion. The China-sponsored UN resolution was adopted by consensus last month, with Russia’s representative urging all nations to observe the truce. “Putin needs to take into account the interests of ideological partners and behave as carefully as possible,” said Andrei Kolesnikov, a senior fel-

low at the Carnegie Moscow Center. “If Putin invades, he will create a very negative backdrop for the Olympic Games.” Russia is likely to wait at least until next week, when it says it will get written responses from the US to its security demands. After meeting on Friday in Geneva with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov dismissed Western “hysteria” over Ukraine and repeated that Russia has no plans to invade its neighbor, even as it’s massed some 100,000 troops near the border. While Russia’s less likely to launch a full-scale invasion immediately, it may opt for a more limited incursion into Ukraine around mid-February, two people familiar with recent Western assessments said. Other actions including cyber attacks and attempts to destabilize Ukraine could take place in parallel or precede an intervention. That assessment doesn’t mean a larger invasion is out of the question, as Western allies have repeatedly said they don’t know Putin’s intentions. Russian forces continue to arrive in Belarus for joint military drills from Feb. 10-20, amid US and NATO alarm that they could be used to attack Ukraine from the north. The closing ceremony at the Winter Olympics is on Feb. 20. Putin and China have been here before. Russia’s 2008 war with Georgia erupted on the day of the opening ceremony of the Beijing Summer Olympics, to the chagrin of Chinese leaders, prompting Putin to fly home to direct military operations. Days after Putin hosted the closing ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, on which he’d

spent a record $50 billion to stage the Games, Russian forces began their operation to annex Crimea from Ukraine. Putin plans to brief Xi on Russia’s demand for security guarantees from the US and its North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies when the two meet in Beijing, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Tuesday. While there’s been “no coordination” between them on the issue, “naturally, President Putin will inform Xi about what is going on,” he said. Asked at a briefing this week about the possibility of a Russian invasion, Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said Beijing advocates “balanced and just treatment of security concerns” while calling on all sides to “resolve differences through dialogue and consultation.” Russia has little incentive to antagonize China, its largest trading partner with total trade of $112 billion in 2020 and a giant consumer of Russian energy and minerals. China was the single biggest importer of Russian coal, buying more than 29 million tons in 2020 or 15% of total exports, according to the RBC news site. Amid the diplomatic efforts to defuse the current crisis, US President Joe Biden has issued increasingly urgent warnings about the risk of a Russian assault on Ukraine. The US and Europe have threatened “severe” sanctions in response if that happens, measures that may cause Putin to draw even closer to China to mitigate the impact on Russia’s economy. Still, some say if Putin does plan to act, he will do so at the best time for Russia, despite the potential fallout.

A12 Tuesday, January 25, 2022

HOUSE ENDORSES TO SENATE NEW CHARTER OF LANDBANK

HE House of Representatives on Monday endorsed for Senate approval the proposed New Landbank of the Philippines Act. This, after lawmakers voting 160 affirmative and 0 negative approved on third and final reading House Bill 10581, which provides for a new charter of the Landbank. The bill seeks to provide for a revitalized and independent charter for the bank to operate as a government financial institution responsible for broad-based agricultural and rural development and accelerated financial inclusion, and provides accessible and innovative solutions that would deliver timely and responsive financial and support services to rural financial institutions, as well as small farmers, fisherfolk and agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs). Quirino Rep. Junie Cua, the panel chairman and principal author of the measure, said the proposal will place the bank in a stronger position to pursue further the policy thrusts of the national government, especially on countryside development. Cua said this policy reform will also bolster its existing corporate and risk governance mechanisms that will drive greater operational efficiencies and enhance the bank’s organizational agility

to elevate its financial inclusion initiatives. LandBank President and CEO Cecilia Borromeo has told lawmakers that this legislation will help LBP serve at least 300 unbanked local governments in the country. The bill mandates the LandBank to allocate 5 percent of its regular loan portfolio (net of domestic loans) for socialized credit to qualified small farmers, fisherfolk and ARBs, for purposes of financing agricultural projects under Section 4 of Republic Act No. 10000 (The Agri-Agra Reform Credit Act of 2009), to be funded through the operations of the Bank itself. It also grants unto the bank the power to issue common and preferred shares of stocks, subject to the following conditions: (1) the issuance of shares must have prior approval from the Secretary of Finance; (2) the National Government shall at all times maintain at least threefourths ownership of the total outstanding capital stock of the Bank, and; (3) except for the national government, no individual or group, related interest or conglomerate, may directly or indirectly vote more than 5 percent of the bank’s total outstanding capital stock. See “House,” A2

House OKs PHL maritime trade bill on 2nd reading

O promote competition among transport and logistics providers and to improve service quality and reduce shipping cost, the House of Representatives approved on second reading on Monday the bill enhancing the competitiveness of Philippine maritime trade by strengthening the oversight functions of relevant government agencies over the imposition of shipping charges. Though viva voce voting, lawmakers approved House Bill 10575 to empower government institutions in their roles of promoting an efficient, competitive, and reliable logistics services. The bill is expected to be approved on third and final reading next week. Export industry stakeholders are pushing for the implementation of standardized shipping fees, which have increased amid vessel shortage due to container imbalance. Shipping costs for shipments sent to the Philippines are way more expensive compared to its neighbors in the region, they said. The average cost for local ports amounts to $592 per 20-feet (ft) full container load, as against the $202 average in other countries. In a joint position paper a copy of which was sent to the BusinessMirror, several industry representatives stressed that shipping charges based on International Commercial Terminology (Incoterms)—a globally accepted standard for international trade— will allow businesses to have better cost management. Moreover, the bill requires port or terminal operators, international carriers, non-vessel operating common carriers (NVOCCs) and forwarders to file their regular shipping charges and fees with the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) and publish the same in newspapers of general circulation. It also mandates that no new or initial rate or change in an existing rate that results in an increased cost to the shipper may become effective earlier than 30 days after filing with the MARINA, except when allowed by the MARINA for a reasonable cause. The bill prohibits the international shipping lines or their agents, freight forwarders and NVOCCs to

Philippine consignees and shippers to impose local shipping charges, except for internationally-accepted surcharges, fees for value-added services, and behavioral charges such as late payment fee, container insurance, the parameters of which must be clearly defined in the contract of carriage and subscribed by the shipper or consignee. The measure also requires that certified copies of all existing agreements made between and among international carriers operating in Philippine ports that affect maritime trade shall be submitted to the MARINA within 90 days from the effectivity of this proposal and authorizes the MARINA, during the effectivity of any agreement or amendment thereto, to determine whether the same is likely to produce unreasonable reduction in transportation services or an unreasonable increase in transportation cost, and to refer the same to the Philippine Competition Commission for appropriate action. The bill prohibits detention charges and demurrage fees when the cause of delay in the return of empty containers is on the part of the shipping lines. T he measure identifies the respective roles of the Department of Transportation (DOTr), MARINA, Department of Trade a nd I ndu st r y ( D T I ), Ph i l ip pine Ports Authority (PPA) and other Port Author ities, Bureau of Customs (BOC), and Philippine. Competition Commission (PCC) in the implementation of this proposa l. It provides for additional members of the MARINA Board and expands its powers to carry out the objectives of this proposal and mandates the MARINA Board to formulate a National Logistics Efficiency Policy (NLEP) which shall serve as guide in the formulation and issuance of rules, regulations, and programs of the implementing agencies specified in the proposal, which include as main component, the use of information technology to facilitate efficient business transaction consistent with Republic Act No. 11032 or the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act. Continued on A9

Importation not key to fish shortage–lawmakers to DA

By Butch Fernandez @butchfBM & Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie

HE closed fishing season should have been suspended by the Duterte administration instead of allowing fish importation by the Department of Agriculture (DA), Senator Cynthia Villar asserted on Monday.

Villar, who chairs the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food and Agrarian Reform, questioned the DA’s decision to greenlight the importation of 60,000 metric tons of galunggong (round scad) and other fish varieties at the first quarter of the year. In the House of Representatives, Rep. Loren Legarda said DA should focus on ensuring food security instead of the simple expedient of fish importation, to the detriment of local producers. Presiding over a committee hearing on Monday, Villar noted that instead of allowing fish imports, authorities could have opted to suspend the closed fishing season. She pointed out the closed

fishing season that started last November 2021 in some parts should have ended this January and February. The senator said that the suspension could be lifted if it was shown to result in a shortage of fish supply amid reports of damaged fishponds caused by storm Odette. Apart from that, she added that the association of fisherfolks had assured here that there was no need to import yet as the entire fish catch in the last quarter of 2021 has not yet been sold out. See related story, “DA’s move to import fish stirs more questions”, on page A3. Villar, speaking partly in Filipiino, observed it appears that the

importers were “more influential with the DA” than the fisherfolk. “Parang mas malakas ang mga importer sa DA kaysa sa mga mangingisda,” the senator said, quoting letters sent her by fisherfolks seeking her help to stop fish importation. Also at the Senate hearing, Villar castigated the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) “for failing to build any new fish hatchery since 2016.” The senator stressed there is enough funding for that in BFAR’s P6-billion annual budget to build fish hatcheries estimated at P20million each.

Food security

A LEADER of the House of Representatives on Monday, meanwhile, strongly opposed the planned importation of 60,000 metric tons of fish in the first quarter of 2022, saying the government should instead craft policies to ensure food security. In a statement, Deputy Speaker Loren Legarda of Antique noted the public outcry and the allegations that the DA needs to address, such as, that there is sufficient supply from the previous importations still unsold that could tide locals

over; that previous importations have had little or no impact on fish prices; and that the closed season is about to be over. “We risk further marginalizing many of our small-scale fishers and coastal communities who are already vulnerable to a myriad of social and environmental changes. These policy decisions [of the DA] that tend to further bring down our most marginalized sectors must be based on evidence. Merely blaming [typhoon] Odette and not comparing other measures like faster provision of small boats and safety nets for the marginalized is not convincing,” she said. “This archipelago is still rich in resources, which is why we are repeatedly challenged to enforce laws against poaching. Instead of prioritizing band-aid solutions that help importers and big traders but are harmful to the entire industry in the long-term, we must craft policies and spending that uplifts the poor and ensures food security for all in the long term,” she added. As an archipelagic nation, Legarda said fisheries are essential to the country’s economy in terms of food security and employment. Continued on A9

A PASSENGER gets A booster shot of the vaccine against Covid-19 at the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange in Parañaque City during the formal launch of MMDA’s Mobile Vaccination Project aimed at providing easy access to booster shots to the public. NONIE REYES

DOLE excludes flexi-workers from 3rd CAMP By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

UDGET limitations prompted the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to exclude workers under flexible work arrangement from the beneficiaries of its latest round of Covid-19 Adjustment Measures Program (CAMP). In a virtual press briefing on Monday, Labor Assistant Secretary Dominique R. Tutay reiterated they were able to allocate only P1 billion for their CAMP 2022—considerably lower than the P10-billion budget for implementation of the

first two rounds of the program. She said their previous implementation of CAMP was funded through the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act (Bayanihan 1) and the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act (Bayanihan 2), while their CAMP 2022 is only funded through the 2022 budget of DOLE. To note, in the first two CAMPs implemented by DOLE, workers affected by flexible work arrangements such as reduction of workdays or job rotations were included among the qualified beneficiaries. “Since we are just allocating P1 billion for [CAMP] 2022, we really

have to prioritize its beneficiaries. These are those who have lost their wages for the duration of Alert Level 3 or up,” Tutay said. She explained that workers under f lexible work arrangements may still have earned income, albeit lower compared to their regular working conditions, when their areas were placed under higher Alert Levels.

Low turnout

THE new provision in the CAMP 2022 implementation, Tutay said, may have contributed to the initial low turnout of its applicants. Another factor behind the few

applicants is that companies and workers are still verifying the provisions of the program, which was just officially announced earlier this month. During the opening of the online application for CAMP 2022 last Monday, only 116 establishments and 1,223 workers applied for the program. As of January 23, 2022, DOLE reported there were 1,676 establishments with 25,855 permanently or temporarily displaced workers due to higher alert levels, who are qualified to apply for CAMP 2022. Continued on A9

Companies

Editor: Jennifer A. Ng

Tuesday, January 25, 2022

‘Ministop stores to undergo makeover after share sale’ By VG Cabuag

@villygc

obinsons Retail Holdings Inc., a company led by the Gokongwei Group, said it is rebranding its Ministop convenience store chain and may stop using the brand eventually after its Japanese partner decided to pull out its investments in the Philippines. Robinsons Supermarket Corp. on Monday said it will acquire Ministop Japan’s remaining 40-percent stake in Robinsons Convenience Stores Inc. (RSCI) in February, increasing its share to full ownership from the previous 60 percent. Robinsons Convenience Stores is the exclusive franchisee of Ministop in the Philippines. Under the new agreement with

Ministop Japan, Robinsons will continue to operate the stores using the Ministop brand within the transition period as agreed upon by its Japanese partner. These stores will be eventually repurposed and “appropriately rebranded” in consideration of readyto-eat offerings, such as Uncle John’s Fried Chicken and Kariman, the company said.

“I would like to thank Ministop Japan for our partnership over the years. Under the Ministop banner we were able to bring to the public well-loved products and essential services,” Robina Gokongwei-Pe, Robinsons Retail president and CEO, said in a statement. “Our stores will continue to carry our bestsellers while we continue to diversify our ready-to-eat menu and offer new products to the market. Customers can also rely on our convenient e-services and bills payment facilities,” Suresh Ramalinggam, general manager of Ministop Philippines, said. Over the years, Ministop has struggled to compete in the country’s convenience store sector as it has only 511 stores, according to its website. The figure is fewer than 7-Eleven’s 3,019 branches as of end-September and Alfamart’s 1,161 stores. Ministop’s other competitors include new entrants—Lawson, operated by the businessman Lucio Co

with 55 branches as of 2020; Familymart, bought in 2018 by Davao businessman Dennis Uy, with 87; and the AllDay convenience store of the Villar Group with 73. In 2000, Robinsons Retail partnered with Japan’s Ministop Co. Ltd and Mitsubishi Corp. to establish the Ministop convenience store in the Philippines. On August 28, 2018, Mitsubishi sold its 12-percent ownership in Robinsons Convenience Stores to Robinsons Inc. (RI) and Ministop. As a result of the transaction, RI’s ownership interest in RCSI increased to 59.05 percent from 51 percent while Ministop’s ownership went up to 40.9 percent from 36.9 percent. On November 4, 2019, Robinsons Inc. also purchased 18.94 million shares from Ministop Co. Ltd for P18.95 million. As a result of the transaction, RI’s ownership interest in Robinsons Convenience Store increased to 60 percent from 59.05 percent.

‘Electric coops must conduct CSP’ By Lenie Lectura @llectura

lectric cooperatives (ECs) must conduct a competitive selection process (CSP) now if their power supply agreements (PSA) are set to expire in a few years, according to the National Electrification Administration (NEA). In an advisory dated January 20, NEA Administrator Emmanuel Juaneza said “all ECs with PSAs expiring in about three to five years as of date, is highly suggested to com-

KKR to buy Accell for $1.8B

KR & Co. agreed to purchase Dutch bicycle maker Accell Group NV for 1.56 billion euros ($1.8 billion) amid a cycling boom spurred by the pandemic. Accell’s shares, which have more than tripled in value since March 2020, surged as much as 24.9 percent after the deal was announced on Monday. Investors have flocked to bicycle makers during the pandemic as cities across Europe added cycling lanes to help people avoid crowded public transporation. Giant, Shimano and stationary bike-maker Peloton were among the big winners since the start of the outbreak, though their shares retreated recently. The higher demand—especially for electric bikes—has driven competition among manufacturers such as Accell, which owns brands including Batavus, Ghost-Bikes, Hercules, Koga-Miyata, Sparta, Winora and Raleigh. Competitors like the Dutch e-bike maker VanMoof are rolling out faster new models to appeal city commuters amid the pandemic and climate change driven boom in cycling in the United States and European cities. KKR has a track record of investing in the consumer sector, including in mobility, with investments in Trainline, Lyft, Gojek, Zwift, Boots and Wella, and others. Teslin, one of Accell’s largest shareholders with about a 10.8-percent stake, is part of KKR’s consortium. Hoogh Blarick, which holds about 7.5 percent of the shares, also supports the transaction. Axeco Corporate Finance is advising Accell, while KKR is working with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Bloomberg News

mence the conduct of your respective CSPs to ensure continuous and sufficient power supply in your area.” NEA’s reminder is in line with its 2019 memorandum on Department Circular No. DC 2018-02-0003 titled “Adopting and Prescribing the Policy for the Competitive Selection Process in the Procurement by the Distribution Utilities of Power Supply Agreement for the Captive Market” and its corresponding implementing rules and regulations as approved by the NEA Board with Resolution No. 16 dated January 24, 2019.

Under the said memorandum, NEA reminded ECs that only the Department of Energy (DOE) could issue a certificate of exemption in the conduct of CSP. ECs that are connected to the grid and have a high Wholesale Electricity Spot Market exposure shall not warrant an exemption, NEA said. Also, power supply from joint venture projects of ECs are required to undergo the CSP. The same memorandum states that the power supply procurement plan of ECs must be aligned with

their distribution development plan. They are likewise required to organize and secure the approval of the Third Party Bids and Awards Committee in order for the CSP to be carried out. NEA’s 2019 memorandum is a reminder to all ECs seeking to be exempted from the CSP. The CSP is a form of competitive public bidding for the purchase of electricity from power generation companies by an electric cooperative or a distribution utility. The process is aimed at lowering electricity cost.

SMC plants 3.8M trees in 3 years

onglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) on Monday said its groupwide reforestation initiative nationwide has planted 3.8 million trees since 2019 to date, even as it recently completed planting over 26,000 trees in Angat, Bulacan together with the town’s Dumagat communities. The initiative is among the conglomerate’s major environmental sustainability projects aimed at helping address the impacts of climate change through the rehabilitation of degraded forests nationwide, carbon capture and reduction of soil erosion which contributes to severe flooding in lowland areas. San Miguel President and CEO Ramon S. Ang said the company, through its power firm SMC Global Power Holdings, has partnered with the indigenous communities of Dumagats in Bulacan to cover the first 16 of 55 hectares targeted for planting with dipterocarp tree species like White and Red Lauan, Palosapis, Apitong, Yakal, Guijo and other indigenous species, such as Bignai and Narra. The initiative is part of the power firm’s s carbon capture program dubbed Project 747, which aims to plant 7 million trees on over 4,000 hectares of land, in seven provinces nationwide. “We thank the members of the indigenous community in Bulacan, the Dumagats, for helping the company plant 26,656 trees on 16 hectares in just two weeks last December. Being residents in the area, their local knowledge and insights are very valuable to our program, from the choice of the ideal tree species, to identifying the upland areas where these trees should be planted to ensure their growth to adulthood,” Ang said. The company and community vol-

MWSS investigates Maynilad for water service interruptions

BusinessMirror file photo

By Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga

he Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) is investigating Maynilad Water Services Inc. (Maynilad), its private water concessionaire in the West Zone, for the prolonged water service interruptions (WSIs). The MWSS Regulatory Office (RO) announced the ongoing investigation to determine whether there is basis to impose the appropriation penalties due to the company’s failure to fulfill its service obligations. MWSS said Maynilad explained that the reduced water production at the Putatan Water Treatment Plant (PWTP) is caused by the prolonged high algal count and sustained high raw water turbidity in the Laguna Lake despite the corrective actions and long term solutions being taken at the PWTP since the second quarter of 2021. The MWSS RO is expecting the PWTP to be operating at its maximum design of 300MLD, and Maynilad to be complying with its service obligation of providing all customers with an uninterrupted supply of potable water at 7 pounds per square inch (psi) minimum pressure. According to MWSS RO, the unusual large number and duration of the announced WSIs have inconvenienced customers within the coverage area of the PWTP, particularly in the Cities of Muntinlupa, Las Piñas, Paranaque, Pasay, Bacoor,

Imus, and Cavite, and the Municipalities of Noveleta and Rosario. On January 11, the MWSS RO served a Notice to Explain to Maynilad for WSIs at its PWTP’s supply zone from December 6 to 22, 2021, and from December 27, 2021 to January 15. On Januar y 21, fol low ing Maynilad’s announcement of WSIs that will last until 15 February, the MWSS RO once again issued a notice to the concessionaire to provide an explanation for its extended WSIs, the persisting issues in its PWTP, and its concrete plan of action to remedy this continuing situation. The agency also directed Maynilad to implement mitigating measures to alleviate the impact of the WSIs; and utilize all accessible online and offline communication channels to effectively inform and update customers on the list of affected areas, schedules, and other pertinent details of the service interruptions prior to implementation. The company was also told to ensure strict adherence to its announced WSI schedules, water tankering schedules, and static tank locations; and immediately address inquiries or concerns on social media, website, hotline, or email regarding the WSIs. Meanwhile, the MWSS RO urges customers to monitor announcements and updates regarding the scheduled WSIs in their respective areas and to store enough water for the duration of the water service interruptions.

Nielsen: GMA reaches 83M viewers in 2021

Photo shows employee and community volunteers during recent tree-planting activities in Quezon. Contributed photo

unteers have planted a total 54,056 trees and mangroves to date in Bulacan since 2019. The reforestation effort complements San Miguel’s flood mitigation strategy in the province, which will include a river channel improvement program for the Marilao-Meycauayan-Obando River System as well as other active rivers and tributaries in Bulacan. This total includes 6,400 trees, including 3,200 narra and guyabano tree varieties planted by employees of San Miguel’s Bulacan Bulk Water Supply unit over 14 hectares at the Angat Dam Watershed since 2019. This project was conducted in cooperation with the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System. Dubbed the annual Million Tree Planting Challenge, MWSS partners with organizations to reforest or replenish the forest cover of 126 hect-

ares of the Angat Dam Watershed within three years. San Miguel is also looking to develop the first 20 hectares of its 80-hectare San Miguel-Paombong Mangrove Plantation and Sanctuary project at Barangay Masukol in the town of Paombong, which can host as many as 200,000 mangroves. “We are taking a holistic approach in our environmental programs and this both entails the reforestation and establishment of mangrove and upland areas. By rehabilitating these upland areas, we can help mitigate soil erosion that contributes to heavy sedimentation or siltation of tributaries which, together with solid waste pollution, result in flooding. At the same time, nurturing mangrove areas will protect coastal areas from storm surges and flooding.” VG Cabuag, Jonathan L. Mayuga

ithout a formidable challenger, GMA Network Inc., citing data from Nielsen Philippines, said on Monday it was the preferred television channel in the country last year, recording a net reach of 95.7 percent with an estimated 83 million viewers. The Gozon-led television giant said it was “the most watched channel in total Philippines” in 2021 with a 46-percent people audience share. Broken down into major areas, GMA’s net reach was at 95.6 percent or about 54.4 million viewers in Total Luzon, 96.4 percent of 16.4 million viewers in Total Visayas, and 94.9 percent or 12 million viewers in Total Mindanao. Across dayparts, GMA recorded an average of 48.4 percent total day people audience share in Total Luzon, while it posted 41.6 percent in Total Visayas, and 41.3 percent in Total Mindanao for 2021. It also claimed dominance in regional cities, such as Dagupan, Cebu, and Davao.

Meanwhile, its second free-toair channel GTV is “keeping it good in terms of ratings as it claimed its spot as the second most-watched station in the country next to flagship station GMA.” Between November and December last year, GTV recorded an 11.6-percent people audience share in Total Philippines, a notch higher than closest competitor TV5 with 10.4 percent. “GTV’s ratings success was also bolstered by the Network’s nonstop efforts to expand GTV’s reach and clarity of reception in areas outside of Mega Manila. It recently commissioned the upgraded analog TV station in Zamboanga which covers Zamboanga City in Zamboanga del Sur as well as the cities of Lamitan and Isabela, as well as other municipalities in Basilan,” GMA said. GMA used to compete with ABS-CBN Corp. in the ratings war, but since the latter was refused franchise renewal by Congress in 2020, GMA has been left without a strong competitor. Lorenz S. Marasigan

Companies BusinessMirror

Tuesday, January 25, 2022

Figaro Coffee shares rise by 2.6% in trading debut

By VG Cabuag

@villygc

hares of Figaro Coffee Group Inc. (FCG), which made its debut on the Philippine Stock Exchange on Monday, defied the general downturn of the market and notched some gains.

Figaro’s shares rose 2 centavos, or 2.6 percent, to close at P0.77 from its initial public offering (IPO) price of P0.75. Its shares were already poised to start strong but only managed to open at P0.79 and reached as high as P0.89, as some investors decided to pocket gains at the close of the trade. “The successful completion of

Figaro Coffee Group’s maiden share sale demonstrated investor confidence in the products and prospects of the company’s food and beverage brands as well as its strategic objectives to further grow its business,” PSE President and CEO Ramon S. Monzon said in his welcome remarks during the listing ceremony. This is the second consecutive

week this month that a listing ceremony was conducted at the PSE, and Monzon said that it has been almost two decades since the PSE had IPO listings during the first month of the year. “Having two listings to date hopefully bodes well for the Exchange’s listing activities for the rest of the year,” Monzon said. Figaro sold to investors some 930.16 million common shares with an overallotment option of up to 93.01 million common shares at an offer price of P0.75 apiece, generating proceeds of P767 million. “We are very happy that our IPO generated strong interest from institutional and public investors. We are also grateful to the strong support of the banking community as this reflects their confidence in the food industry, especially in FCG’s subsidiary, Figaro Coffee Systems

Inc., a company that has over 25 years of experience,” Figaro Chairman Justin T. Liu. “We would like to assure our investors and customers that FCG will continue to look for avenues for growth and we endeavor to provide high quality products.” The group currently operates 56 Figaro coffee shops, 39 Angel’s Pizza, six Tien Ma’s Taiwanese restaurants, seven TFG Express outlets and one Cafe Portofino restaurant. Figaro said it will use the net proceeds from the IPO for its store openings and renovations, commissary expansion, debt repayment and IT infrastructure developments. Abacus Capital and Investment Corp., China Bank Capital Corp. and PNB Capital and Investment Corp. acted as joint issue managers, joint lead underwriters and joint bookrunners of the IPO.

‘Nlex to enhance systems, programs’ N

lex Corp. said on Monday it is beefing up its customer experience initiatives this year, laying out some of its system enhancement and programs for 2022. Nlex Corp. President Luigi L. Bautista said initiatives for 2022 include the installation of RFID early detection feature, installation and software upgrade of RFID card readers or contactless terminals, upgrade of system servers, and replacement of toll lane equipment on the North Luzon Expressway (Nlex) and the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (Sctex). Specifically, 29 more toll lanes will be equipped with enhanced scanners and another 50 toll lanes will have new contactless terminals where customers can tap their Easytrip card to process their RFID transactions.

Once completed, a total of 217 toll lanes will now have RFID early detection features and 258 toll lanes with contactless terminals. He added that the upgrades also include the enhancement of its system services and the replacement of toll fare indicators and lane status in 187 toll lanes. “It is imperative for us to serve our customers well. We are innovating and adapting accordingly to improve our operations so we can provide customers with a quick and seamless experience both in our expressways and digital channels,” he said in a statement. Nlex staff will also undergo “specialized training to level up their customer service.” More than 119 million motorists passed through the Nlex and the Sctex in 2021. Lorenz S. Marasigan

mutual funds

January 24, 2022

NAV

One Year Three Year Five Year

per share Return*

Y-T-D

Return

Stock Funds ALFM Growth Fund, Inc. -a

232.1

2.36%

-4.52%

-2%

ATRAM Alpha Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a

1.6092

23.58%

2.86%

3.07%

-3.3%

2.45%

-8.1%

-4.82%

-1.04%

Climbs Share Capital Equity Investment Fund Corp. -a 0.7571 -4.31%

-7.3% n.a.

0.08%

First Metro Consumer Fund on MSCI Phils. IMI, Inc. -a 0.7531 3.16%

-4.78% n.a.

-2.31%

First Metro Save and Learn Equity Fund,Inc. -a

-2.32%

-0.13%

-0.27%

3.49%

-4.21%

-3.5%

-8.46% n.a.

-0.18%

ATRAM Philippine Equity Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 3.2041

5.1687

4.68%

-0.42%

First Metro Save and Learn Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a

0.7799

MBG Equity Investment Fund, Inc. -a

94.26

-8.47%

PAMI Equity Index Fund, Inc. -a

47.82

2.16%

-3.1%

-0.33%

-0.64%

Philam Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a

498.55

2.17%

-2.97%

-0.84%

-0.43%

Philequity Dividend Yield Fund, Inc. -a

1.396

19.26%

1.9%

2.54%

2.93%

Philequity Fund, Inc. -a

36.546

5.16%

-2%

0.72%

-0.13%

-3.5% n.a.

-0.08%

Philequity MSCI Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a

0.9406

3.1%

Philequity PSE Index Fund Inc. -a

4.9306

2.96%

-2.41%

0.21%

Philippine Stock Index Fund Corp. -a

823.53

2.78%

-2.41%

0.18%

-0.6%

0.741

3.33%

-6.53%

-2.95%

-1.54%

Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Equity Fund, Inc. -a 3.7489

3.36%

-4.41%

-1.28%

-0.7%

Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Stock Index Fund, Inc. -a

0.9383

2.29%

-2.75%

-0.05%

United Fund, Inc. -a

2.94%

-2.56%

0.55%

-0.86%

Soldivo Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a

3.4077

-0.43%

-0.61%

-0.66%

Primarily invested in Peso securities (units) Philequity Alpha One Fund, Inc. -a

1.1688

Philippine Stock Index Fund Corp. -a

7.52% n.a. n.a.

0.52%

1015.28 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.

Exchange Traded Fund (shares) First Metro Phil. Equity Exchange Traded Fund, Inc. -a,c

110.8351

3.08%

-2.2%

0.66%

-0.58%

Primarily invested in foreign currency securities (shares)

Vodafone shares jump after investors bet on telecom mergers

odafone Group Plc shares rose as much as 6.3 percent, the most in more two months, after reports that the telecommunications group is exploring mergers with its key United Kingdom and Italian units. London-listed Vodafone expressed interest late last year in acquiring CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd.’s Three UK, Bloomberg News reported on Saturday. Reuters also reported that Vodafone was in talks to merge its Italian unit with Xavier Niel’s Iliad SA. “Like London buses, you wait for ages and then two come along at once,” said James Ratzer at New Street Research in a note to clients. Ratzer, as well as analysts at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., welcomed the prospect of

deals, and also pointed to hopes of Vodafone striking a deal in Spain. Shares in Europe’s other wireless and broadband companies also rose early Monday despite weak trading in wider equity markets. Telefonica SA rose 3 percent, BT Group Plc 2.6 percent and Orange SA 2.5 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 1.65 percent. Vodafone Chief Executive Officer Nick Read talked up the company’s hunt to strike deals to consolidate in its “major European markets” results in November. Intense competition has weighed on the Newbury, Englandbased company’s returns for years but regulators seemingly stood in the way of mergers that would reduce the number of carriers in a market from four to three. Bloomberg News

ATRAM AsiaPlus Equity Fund, Inc. -b

$1.1378

Sun Life Prosperity World Voyager Fund, Inc. -a $1.7568

-14.68%

6.06%

5.45%

1.94%

14.1%

10.68%

-4.85%

Balanced Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities (shares) ATRAM Dynamic Allocation Fund, Inc. -a

1.6895

0.59%

-0.75%

-0.57%

ATRAM Philippine Balanced Fund, Inc. -a

2.2887

-0.13%

-0.1%

0.32%

2.43%

0.58%

1.24%

-0.06%

First Metro Save and Learn Balanced Fund Inc. -a 2.6895

-0.15%

First Metro Save and Learn F.O.C.C.U.S. Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a 0.2131

7.41% n.a. n.a.

NCM Mutual Fund of the Phils., Inc. -a

2.13%

1.77%

1.76%

2.0111

PAMI Horizon Fund, Inc. -a

3.7554

-0.95%

1.23%

0.69%

-0.26%

Philam Fund, Inc. -a

16.8067

-0.86%

0.8%

0.6%

-0.23%

Solidaritas Fund, Inc. -a

2.1154

-0.28%

0.96%

-0.56%

0.37%

Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 3.6289 1.41%

-1.59%

-0.14%

-0.5%

Sun Life Prosperity Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a

-0.14%

0.41%

0.52%

0.9592

7.53%

1.96%

-0.28%

Primarily invested in Peso securities (units) Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2028, Inc. -a

0.9825

-4.13% n.a. n.a.

Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2038, Inc. -a

0.9398

-0.97% n.a. n.a.

-0.74% -0.5%

Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2048, Inc. -a

0.9286

-0.41% n.a. n.a.

-0.57%

Primarily invested in foreign currency securities (shares) Cocolife Dollar Fund Builder, Inc. -a $0.03723

-4.86%

1.67%

1.07%

-1.87%

-12.28%

4.32%

3.6%

1.06%

Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Advantage Fund, Inc. -a $4.6365 0.44%

10.08%

7.9%

-3.45%

5.31%

4.01%

-2.43%

PAMI Asia Balanced Fund, Inc. -b

$1.0784

Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Wellspring Fund, Inc. -a,2 $1.1695 -2.02%

Bond Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities (shares) ALFM Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a

374.71

0.86%

2.84%

2.56%

0.11%

ATRAM Corporate Bond Fund, Inc. -a

1.8858

-0.91%

0.48%

0.05%

0.06%

Cocolife Fixed Income Fund, Inc. -a

3.2478

0.95%

2.9%

3.86%

0.12%

2.25

-2.23%

1.66%

1.45%

-0.07%

First Metro Save and Learn Fixed Income Fund,Inc. -a 2.4275 -1.05%

2.97%

1.84%

0.06%

Philam Bond Fund, Inc. -a

4.3962

-5.49%

4.26%

1.57%

0.01%

Philam Managed Income Fund, Inc. -a

1.3193

-0.27%

3.73%

2.84%

0.02%

Ekklesia Mutual Fund Inc. -a

Philequity Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a

3.985

-0.09%

3.81%

2.72%

0.48%

1.0291

-1.22%

4.22%

2.11%

0.09%

Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.1912

-0.59%

4.3%

3.21%

0.12%

-1.2%

3.47%

2.58%

0.15%

Soldivo Bond Fund, Inc. -a Sun Life Prosperity GS Fund, Inc. -a

1.7332

Primarily invested in foreign currency securities (shares) ALFM Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a

$488.99

0.88%

2.84%

2.43%

-0.12%

ALFM Euro Bond Fund, Inc. -a

Є219.4

0.02%

0.95%

-0.28%

$1.19

-7.17%

1.57%

1.5%

-1.15%

1.19%

0.79%

-0.77%

ATRAM Total Return Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -b

First Metro Save and Learn Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $0.0258 -2.64% PAMI Global Bond Fund, Inc -b

$1.0001

-8.32%

-1.25%

-1.05%

-2.22%

Philam Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a

$2.4553

-3.07%

3.82%

2.35%

-2.01%

$0.0620871

-0.43%

2.82%

1.89%

-0.33%

Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Abundance Fund, Inc. -a $3.1204 -3.3%

2.53%

1.21%

-2.37%

Philequity Dollar Income Fund Inc. -a

Money Market Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities (shares) 131.3

1.05%

2.66%

First Metro Save and Learn Money Market Fund, Inc. -a

ALFM Money Market Fund, Inc. -a

1.0586

0.95% n.a. n.a.

2.55%

Sun Life Prosperity Peso Starter Fund, Inc. -a,1 1.3168

1.46%

2.52%

0.08% 0.09%

0.09%

Primarily invested in foreign currency securities (shares) Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Starter Fund, Inc. -a $1.0609

0.74%

1.4% n.a.

0.03%

Feeder Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities (units) ALFM Global Multi-Asset Income Fund Inc. -a

47.11 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.

Sun Life Prosperity World Equity Index Feeder Fund, Inc. -a 1.3731

17.63% n.a. n.a.

-0.71%

Primarily invested in foreign currency securities (units) ALFM Global Multi-Asset Income Fund Inc. -a

$0.95

-4.04% n.a. n.a.

-2.06%

a - NAVPS as of the previous banking day. b - NAVPS as of two banking days ago. c - Listed in the PSE. d - in Net Asset Value per Unit (NAVPU). 1 - Renaming was approved by the SEC last July 8, 2021 (formerly, Sun Life Prosperity Money Market Fund, Inc.). 2 - Adjusted due to stock dividend issuance last November 25, 2021.

"While we endeavor to keep the information accurate, the Philippine Investment Funds Association (PIFA) and its members make no warranties as to the correctness of the newspaper’s publication and assume no liability or responsibility for any error or omissions. You may visit http://www. pifa.com.ph to see the latest NAVPS/NAVPU."

www.businessmirror.com.ph

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

January 24, 2022

Net Foreign Stocks Bid Ask Open High Low Close Volume Value Trade (Peso) Buy (Sell) FINANCIALs

ASIA UNITED BDO UNIBANK BANK PH ISLANDS CHINABANK EAST WEST BANK METROBANK PHIL NATL BANK PSBANK RCBC SECURITY BANK UNION BANK BRIGHT KINDLE COL FINANCIAL FERRONOUX HLDG IREMIT MEDCO HLDG MANULIFE NTL REINSURANCE PHIL STOCK EXCH SUN LIFE VANTAGE

132,825 100,136,716 73,937,306 1,615,730 2,416,146 145,886,205 7,919,895 804,901 28,560 72,932,589 4,695,708.50 408,600 378,060 64,030 30,240 10,200 351,500 2,130 168,000 322,000 800

-11,256,952 2,772,291.50 -482,575 -114,484 4,721,380.00 -972,439 286,091.50 -356,400 199,500 -147,000 322,000 -

INDUSTRIAL AC ENERGY 9.58 9.59 9.65 9.65 9.42 9.59 15,214,900 144,678,329 ALSONS CONS 1.04 1.07 1.04 1.09 1.03 1.07 100,000 105,860 ABOITIZ POWER 32.3 32.35 33 33 32.25 32.35 778,700 25,277,765 0.54 0.55 0.55 0.56 0.54 0.54 10,127,000 5,491,560 BASIC ENERGY 27.1 27.2 28 28 27.15 27.2 2,418,500 66,073,760 FIRST GEN FIRST PHIL HLDG 70.1 70.25 70.2 70.25 70.1 70.1 17,390 1,220,695.50 JOLLIVILLE HLDG 5 5.47 5 5 5 5 500 2,500 312.2 315 315 315 311 315 105,740 33,146,384 MERALCO 24.75 24.95 24.9 25.25 24.5 24.95 889,400 22,127,260 MANILA WATER 3.29 3.31 3.38 3.38 3.29 3.29 2,090,000 6,909,260 PETRON PETROENERGY 4.02 4.19 3.95 4.19 3.95 4.19 27,000 108,680 PHX PETROLEUM 10.54 10.84 10.8 10.84 10.8 10.84 3,000 32,456 12.94 12.96 12.92 13 12.8 12.96 4,698,100 60,517,934 SYNERGY GRID 19 19.02 19.06 19.2 18.98 19 457,400 8,725,852 PILIPINAS SHELL SPC POWER 14 14.08 14.24 14.24 14 14 326,300 4,576,698 SOLAR PH 1.95 1.96 1.79 2 1.78 1.96 400,618,000 766,352,930 AGRINURTURE 4.79 4.8 4.85 4.85 4.85 4.85 1,000 4,850 2.84 2.88 2.83 2.88 2.82 2.88 137,000 390,700 AXELUM CENTURY FOOD 26.1 26.35 26 26.5 26 26.1 804,100 21,014,370 DEL MONTE 15.6 15.86 15.22 15.94 15.22 15.86 66,900 1,035,624 DNL INDUS 8.4 8.53 8.58 8.63 8.38 8.53 2,394,600 20,312,000 19.36 19.4 19.5 19.6 19.2 19.36 498,000 9,634,020 EMPERADOR 69 69.95 69.2 69.95 69 69.95 72,340 5,029,751.50 SMC FOODANDBEV FIGARO COFFEE 0.77 0.78 0.79 0.89 0.76 0.77 716,445,000 584,741,840 ALLIANCE SELECT 0.6 0.62 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 43,000 25,800 FRUITAS HLDG 1.25 1.28 1.26 1.28 1.25 1.28 3,971,000 5,031,130 111.8 112.8 119 119 111.3 111.8 104,300 11,792,220 GINEBRA 229 229.4 228 229 226.2 229 273,910 62,556,392 JOLLIBEE KEEPERS HLDG 1.35 1.36 1.39 1.4 1.34 1.36 8,466,000 11,568,600 MAXS GROUP 6.39 6.4 6.4 6.45 6.39 6.4 105,800 677,184 0.14 0.146 0.144 0.147 0.137 0.147 2,570,000 358,340 MG HLDG MONDE NISSIN 16.62 16.64 16.78 16.8 16.42 16.64 17,395,400 288,204,808 9.4 9.41 9.4 9.42 9.4 9.4 1,531,500 14,396,102 SHAKEYS PIZZA ROXAS AND CO 0.67 0.68 0.64 0.69 0.63 0.67 5,697,000 3,659,150 RFM CORP 4.53 4.54 4.58 4.58 4.5 4.55 10,000 45,570 0.102 0.105 0.103 0.105 0.103 0.105 110,000 11,350 SWIFT FOODS UNIV ROBINA 127.5 127.9 127.3 127.9 127.2 127.9 699,670 89,268,294 VITARICH 0.7 0.71 0.7 0.71 0.7 0.7 327,000 230,720 VICTORIAS 2.4 2.51 2.41 2.41 2.41 2.41 4,000 9,640 1.07 1.08 1.1 1.1 1.06 1.07 1,889,000 2,026,840 CEMEX HLDG 14.5 14.56 14.66 14.66 14.5 14.5 54,900 801,078 EAGLE CEMENT EEI CORP 6.19 6.24 6.24 6.3 6.19 6.24 236,100 1,467,003 HOLCIM 5.8 5.81 5.9 5.9 5.8 5.8 336,600 1,968,610 MEGAWIDE 5.06 5.07 5.14 5.14 5.04 5.07 354,400 1,794,532 20.9 21 20.9 21 20.85 21 33,200 694,130 PHINMA TKC METALS 0.78 0.79 0.78 0.8 0.77 0.79 152,000 119,760 VULCAN INDL 0.9 0.91 0.92 0.94 0.9 0.91 1,580,000 1,454,960 CROWN ASIA 1.69 1.73 1.73 1.73 1.69 1.7 42,000 71,380 MABUHAY VINYL 4.2 4.35 4.34 4.35 4.34 4.35 3,000 13,030 5.66 5.7 5.7 5.7 5.7 5.7 700 3,990 PRYCE CORP CONCEPCION 21.2 21.4 21.2 21.4 21.2 21.35 33,100 705,200 GREENERGY 2.09 2.1 2.2 2.21 2.07 2.1 6,912,000 14,790,380 INTEGRATED MICR 9.85 9.86 9.75 10 9.75 9.86 2,439,000 24,172,114 0.71 0.72 0.72 0.72 0.71 0.71 78,000 55,920 IONICS 6.02 6.08 6.04 6.08 6.04 6.08 11,100 67,214 PANASONIC SFA SEMICON 1.1 1.12 1.09 1.15 1.09 1.1 317,000 351,370 CIRTEK HLDG 3.71 3.72 3.85 3.91 3.72 3.72 1,678,000 6,379,940

66,200,096 -1,090 -141,360.00 10,260 -13,516,695 497,880 17,877,464 -3,788,460 -79,500 578,374 -1,788,252.00 11,200 35,387,680 599,585 -3,392,093 -460,860 -941,269 -502,820 1,260 -4,175,981 9,683,252 249,190 107,896,544 -1,624,320 -968,920 16,252,381 -35,500 216,000 -1,344,940 -358,885 -1,476 287,670 1,099,120 -11,520 83,860

HOLDING & FRIMS

ABACORE CAPITAL ASIABEST GROUP AYALA CORP ABOITIZ EQUITY ALLIANCE GLOBAL ANSCOR ANGLO PHIL HLDG ATN HLDG A ATN HLDG B COSCO CAPITAL DMCI HLDG FILINVEST DEV GT CAPITAL HOUSE OF INV JG SUMMIT KEPPEL HLDG B LODESTAR LOPEZ HLDG LT GROUP METRO PAC INV SOLID GROUP SM INVESTMENTS SAN MIGUEL CORP ZEUS HLDG

44.25 127.4 93.5 25.4 9.26 56.95 20.45 57.9 20.2 109.8 98 1.69 4.07 3.2 0.81 0.29 950 0.65 209.2 2,800 0.8

0.92 5.4 859 62.4 12.38 7.92 0.88 0.55 0.56 5.1 8.15 7.21 551 3.51 61.05 7 0.63 3.31 10.16 3.83 1.09 950 112 0.175

44.95 127.5 93.6 25.6 9.33 57 20.55 58 20.4 110 98.05 1.8 4.1 3.29 0.84 0.335 955 0.71 210 2,810 0.88

0.93 5.9 862 63.5 12.42 8.29 0.92 0.59 0.6 5.11 8.19 7.4 557.5 3.55 61.1 7.44 0.68 3.34 10.18 3.84 1.14 952 112.1 0.177

44.2 129.4 94.3 25.65 9.4 57.3 20.3 57.9 20.4 110 102 1.8 4.09 3.21 0.84 0.34 950 0.71 210 2,800 0.8

0.95 5.36 858 62.95 12.5 7.92 0.89 0.62 0.65 5.15 8.36 7.2 554 3.51 60.55 7.44 0.63 3.25 10.14 3.88 1.09 958.5 111.9 0.178

44.95 129.4 94.6 25.7 9.48 57.35 20.85 58.2 20.6 112 102 1.8 4.11 3.21 0.84 0.34 950 0.71 210 2,800 0.8

0.95 5.4 867.5 63.5 12.5 7.92 0.91 0.65 0.74 5.15 8.36 7.4 557.5 3.51 61.2 7.44 0.68 3.3 10.22 3.89 1.14 958.5 112 0.18

44.1 127.4 93.5 25.25 9.2 56.9 20.3 57.9 20 110 97.5 1.8 4.09 3.2 0.84 0.34 950 0.71 210 2,800 0.8

0.93 5.36 848 61.85 12.28 7.92 0.89 0.55 0.6 5.05 8.14 7.2 545 3.51 60.05 7.44 0.63 3.25 10.08 3.82 1.09 942.5 110.8 0.175

44.95 127.4 93.6 25.4 9.26 57 20.45 58 20 110 98.05 1.8 4.1 3.2 0.84 0.34 950 0.71 210 2,800 0.8

0.93 5.4 862 63.5 12.42 7.92 0.91 0.55 0.6 5.1 8.19 7.4 557.5 3.51 61.05 7.44 0.68 3.3 10.16 3.84 1.14 950 112 0.177

3,000 783,920 788,300 63,000 258,600 2,557,850 387,600 13,880 1,400 657,750 47,690 227,000 92,000 20,000 36,000 30,000 370 3,000 800 115 1,000

1,780,000 1,000 129,090 596,660 2,209,200 14,900 211,000 6,156,000 1,090,000 2,126,200 5,785,900 3,300 148,510 10,000 1,002,170 1,300 708,000 244,000 2,724,800 12,587,000 2,000 108,810 33,580 1,040,000

1,660,050 5,392 111,048,910 37,503,605.50 27,413,802 118,008 191,790 3,666,180 714,050 10,835,505 47,374,827 24,300 81,904,595 35,100 60,927,844 9,672 471,070 805,150 27,709,254 48,375,710 2,230 103,073,005 3,744,292 185,440

PROPERTY ARTHALAND CORP 0.6 0.61 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 30,000 18,000 AYALA LAND 35 35.1 34.8 35.1 34.7 35.1 4,603,100 160,824,660 AYALA LAND LOG 5.95 5.96 6.1 6.1 5.83 5.95 8,547,600 50,719,569 0.98 1.03 0.98 0.98 0.98 0.98 1,000 980 ARANETA PROP AREIT RT 51.95 52 52 52.2 50 52 548,900 28,489,157 A BROWN 0.77 0.78 0.76 0.8 0.76 0.78 257,000 196,010 CITYLAND DEVT 0.74 0.75 0.74 0.75 0.74 0.74 104,000 77,090 0.101 0.102 0.101 0.107 0.101 0.105 360,000 36,750 CROWN EQUITIES CEB LANDMASTERS 2.9 2.91 2.9 2.91 2.9 2.9 170,000 493,430 0.4 0.405 0.4 0.405 0.4 0.4 1,200,000 480,500 CENTURY PROP DOUBLEDRAGON 7.05 7.06 7.05 7.14 7.05 7.06 205,600 1,457,640 DDMP RT 1.8 1.81 1.8 1.82 1.79 1.8 8,652,000 15,624,380 6.77 6.78 6.78 6.78 6.78 6.78 30,100 204,078 DM WENCESLAO EMPIRE EAST 0.255 0.26 0.25 0.26 0.25 0.255 190,000 48,500 EVER GOTESCO 0.315 0.32 0.335 0.335 0.32 0.32 11,290,000 3,652,150 FILINVEST RT 7.71 7.78 7.65 7.8 7.65 7.78 1,807,400 13,981,911 FILINVEST LAND 1.08 1.09 1.09 1.1 1.08 1.08 5,484,000 5,964,370 0.93 0.95 0.94 0.95 0.93 0.93 110,000 103,210 GLOBAL ESTATE 8990 HLDG 11.2 11.4 11.68 11.7 11.2 11.4 658,000 7,523,680 GOLDEN MV 507 540 530 540 530 540 470 251,790 PHIL INFRADEV 1.09 1.13 1.12 1.14 1.07 1.09 2,153,000 2,363,880 0.88 0.91 0.88 0.88 0.88 0.88 2,000 1,760 CITY AND LAND MEGAWORLD 3.15 3.16 3.2 3.2 3.14 3.15 8,022,000 25,278,650 MRC ALLIED 0.234 0.238 0.236 0.242 0.234 0.235 4,350,000 1,036,420 MREIT RT 22 22.05 22.4 22.6 21.95 22 2,941,800 65,586,555 OMICO CORP 0.34 0.345 0.345 0.345 0.34 0.34 700,000 238,150 0.495 0.51 0.49 0.51 0.485 0.51 1,650,000 815,850 PHIL ESTATES PRIMEX CORP 2.07 2.08 2.04 2.09 2.02 2.08 747,000 1,523,270 RL COMM RT 8.5 8.51 8.55 8.58 8.5 8.5 4,727,500 40,219,318 ROBINSONS LAND 18.74 18.96 18.74 18.96 18.7 18.96 678,400 12,821,472 0.2 0.209 0.205 0.21 0.2 0.209 2,190,000 440,460 PHIL REALTY SHANG PROP 2.58 2.62 2.57 2.61 2.57 2.61 85,000 219,450 2.8 2.85 2.85 2.85 2.85 2.85 5,000 14,250 STA LUCIA LAND SM PRIME HLDG 34.25 34.4 34.15 34.6 34.15 34.4 8,266,300 283,899,385 VISTAMALLS 3.51 3.64 3.65 3.65 3.55 3.64 19,000 68,420 1.11 1.13 1.12 1.15 1.11 1.13 154,000 173,390 SUNTRUST HOME VISTA LAND 3.44 3.45 3.48 3.48 3.43 3.44 566,000 1,954,000 SERVICES ABS CBN 14.2 14.26 14.2 14.44 14 14.26 601,800 8,540,450 GMA NETWORK 14.56 14.6 14.82 14.84 14.42 14.56 1,046,200 15,302,208 MANILA BULLETIN 0.425 0.43 0.43 0.43 0.425 0.425 100,000 42,750 3,258 3,260 3,318 3,330 3,240 3,260 69,775 227,914,640 GLOBE TELECOM 1,859 1,860 1,863 1,869 1,856 1,859 46,475 86,499,715 PLDT APOLLO GLOBAL 0.073 0.074 0.078 0.078 0.073 0.074 240,500,000 18,000,040 CONVERGE 30.55 30.6 31 31.25 30.45 30.6 7,497,600 229,941,455 2.29 2.42 2.26 2.45 2.26 2.45 276,000 649,680 DFNN INC DITO CME HLDG 5.38 5.39 5.3 5.48 5.22 5.39 7,722,100 41,633,037 1.68 1.71 1.71 1.71 1.7 1.7 17,000 28,970 JACKSTONES NOW CORP 1.33 1.35 1.37 1.38 1.31 1.35 584,000 777,890 TRANSPACIFIC BR 0.345 0.35 0.36 0.36 0.34 0.35 5,640,000 1,967,600 7.4 7.45 7.33 7.4 7.33 7.4 10,700 78,578 2GO GROUP 13.6 13.9 13.9 13.9 13.9 13.9 2,600 36,140 ASIAN TERMINALS CHELSEA 1.65 1.69 1.69 1.69 1.65 1.69 341,000 568,330 CEBU AIR 42 42.1 42 42.3 41.8 42 155,200 6,513,550 INTL CONTAINER 200 201 196.6 201 195.8 201 2,420,570 478,036,979 22.7 23.8 23.8 23.8 23.8 23.8 100 2,380 LBC EXPRESS 0.9 0.91 0.91 0.91 0.91 0.91 13,000 11,830 LORENZO SHIPPNG MACROASIA 5.09 5.1 5.16 5.2 5.09 5.1 1,855,500 9,496,784 METROALLIANCE A 1.05 1.06 1.05 1.06 1.05 1.05 31,000 32,630 1.06 1.13 1.02 1.02 1.02 1.02 3,000 3,060 METROALLIANCE B HARBOR STAR 0.82 0.85 0.82 0.82 0.82 0.82 33,000 27,060 DISCOVERY WORLD 1.75 1.8 1.77 1.8 1.74 1.8 431,000 755,740 WATERFRONT 0.47 0.48 0.465 0.47 0.465 0.47 250,000 117,000 IPEOPLE 6.71 7.54 6.69 7.54 6.69 7.54 3,700 25,178 0.33 0.335 0.335 0.34 0.33 0.33 820,000 271,150 STI HLDG 1.33 1.34 1.34 1.34 1.34 1.34 40,000 53,600 BELLE CORP BLOOMBERRY 6.11 6.18 6.19 6.25 6.1 6.11 869,800 5,354,900 LEISURE AND RES 1.38 1.39 1.35 1.41 1.35 1.38 782,000 1,077,980 0.74 0.75 0.73 0.75 0.73 0.75 251,000 186,160 PH RESORTS GRP 0.445 0.45 0.45 0.45 0.44 0.45 2,070,000 923,050 PREMIUM LEISURE PHIL RACING 5.6 6.97 5.65 5.65 5.6 5.65 141,100 797,160 PHILWEB 1.97 2.02 2.01 2.04 1.97 2.02 230,000 459,110 ALLDAY 0.59 0.6 0.6 0.61 0.59 0.59 24,380,000 14,513,000 5.52 5.6 5.52 5.52 5.52 5.52 4,200 23,184 BERJAYA ALLHOME 8.8 8.96 8.9 8.96 8.9 8.96 1,423,800 12,721,655 METRO RETAIL 1.37 1.38 1.39 1.39 1.37 1.38 99,000 136,140 PUREGOLD 37.3 37.4 37.5 37.65 37.25 37.4 496,900 18,611,555 57.85 57.95 57.65 58.5 57.65 57.95 307,330 17,802,249 ROBINSONS RTL 86.15 88 86.2 86.3 86.1 86.15 890 76,689.50 PHIL SEVEN CORP 1.09 1.1 1.11 1.11 1.08 1.09 684,000 746,690 SSI GROUP WILCON DEPOT 27 27.1 27.75 28 27 27 2,220,400 60,398,640 APC GROUP 0.223 0.243 0.235 0.243 0.22 0.243 550,000 122,600 4 4.3 4.01 4.01 4 4 13,000 52,100 EASYCALL MEDILINES 1.07 1.08 1.12 1.13 1.08 1.08 6,698,000 7,333,290 PRMIERE HORIZON 0.56 0.57 0.59 0.61 0.55 0.57 12,524,000 7,187,510 SBS PHIL CORP 3.94 3.95 3.76 3.94 3.76 3.94 15,000 58,840 MINING & OIL ATOK 5.95 6 5.95 6.2 5.95 6 4,700 28,502 APEX MINING 1.74 1.76 1.77 1.78 1.72 1.76 7,253,000 12,697,860 6.09 6.1 6.11 6.11 6.09 6.1 1,663,200 10,144,745 ATLAS MINING 4.95 5.15 5 5 5 5 5,000 25,000 BENGUET B CENTURY PEAK 2.7 2.74 2.6 2.74 2.57 2.74 50,000 133,840 FERRONICKEL 2.27 2.28 2.27 2.3 2.25 2.27 2,543,000 5,770,610 0.192 0.2 0.191 0.191 0.191 0.191 90,000 17,190 GEOGRACE 0.137 0.138 0.14 0.142 0.137 0.137 3,020,000 415,070 LEPANTO A LEPANTO B 0.138 0.14 0.138 0.142 0.138 0.138 1,160,000 160,480 MANILA MINING A 0.0095 0.0097 0.0099 0.0099 0.0097 0.0097 5,000,000 48,700 MARCVENTURES 1.44 1.46 1.51 1.55 1.41 1.46 4,294,000 6,255,890 0.99 1.03 0.99 1.08 0.99 1.03 301,000 314,310 NIHAO 5.97 5.99 6 6.08 5.88 5.99 5,792,200 34,750,590 NICKEL ASIA ORNTL PENINSULA 0.82 0.85 0.86 0.86 0.82 0.82 1,218,000 1,020,260 PX MINING 5.69 5.7 5.88 5.9 5.7 5.7 1,750,300 10,052,316 SEMIRARA MINING 23.9 24.15 24.65 24.65 23.5 24.15 2,254,400 53,718,020 0.007 0.0072 0.0072 0.0073 0.0072 0.0073 43,000,000 312,900 UNITED PARAGON ACE ENEXOR 32.2 32.5 33.85 34.2 32.5 32.5 179,900 5,974,710 ORNTL PETROL A 0.011 0.012 0.012 0.012 0.011 0.012 112,600,000 1,315,300 ORNTL PETROL B 0.011 0.012 0.011 0.012 0.011 0.012 14,200,000 165,800 0.0094 0.0096 0.0096 0.0096 0.0095 0.0095 32,000,000 305,100 PHILODRILL 6 6.09 6.08 6.08 6 6.08 94,900 574,209 PXP ENERGY PREFFERED AC PREF B1 513 525 525 525 525 525 30 15,750 ALCO PREF D 513 525 524 525 512 512 970 507,210 BRN PREF A 103.4 104 103.2 103.4 103.2 103.4 11,500 1,188,900 41.25 41.5 41.25 41.5 41.25 41.5 37,300 1,547,400 CEB PREF 100.8 101.1 100.8 101.1 100.8 101 2,560 258,548 DD PREF EEI PREF A 104 104.9 104 104 104 104 15,500 1,612,000 EEI PREF B 106.5 107.8 106.5 107.8 106.5 107.8 180 19,274 102.5 104.4 104.4 104.4 104.4 104.4 30 3,132 FGEN PREF G MWIDE PREF 2B 101 101.2 101 101 101 101 4,700 474,700 MWIDE PREF 4 99.5 100 99.5 99.5 99.5 99.5 200 19,900 PNX PREF 3B 101.1 102.5 102.5 102.5 102.5 102.5 6,000 615,000 PNX PREF 4 1,000 1,004 1,004 1,004 1,000 1,004 860 863,230 1,095 1,129 1,094 1,094 1,094 1,094 5 5,470 PCOR PREF 3B SMC PREF 2H 75.95 76.5 76.6 76.6 76.6 76.6 2,000 153,200 SMC PREF 2I 79.25 79.5 79 79 79 79 2,610 206,190 SMC PREF 2J 76.5 77.1 76.5 77.1 76.5 77.1 795,510 60,859,171 SMC PREF 2K 75.9 76 76 76 76 76 40 3,040 53.2 53.6 53 53.15 53 53.15 11,620 616,403 TECH PREF B2D PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ABS HLDG PDR 13.24 13.5 13.44 13.44 13.12 13.14 1,117,100 14,668,712 GMA HLDG PDR 14.26 14.3 14.3 14.36 14.22 14.3 87,100 1,244,182 WARRANTS TECH WARRANT 0.87 0.89 0.94 0.94 0.88 0.88 1,919,000 1,727,280

9,300 2,685,735 4,553,892 3,739,936 30,096 -65,000 2,674,399 -446,258 -43,072,630 -71,352.50 475,150 4,314,992 -14,170,470 25,260,750 116,289 -1,800 9,000 32,820,610 -133,634 2,718,758 9,750 -87,050 -36,000 78,397 1,460,890 1,290,000 -206,577 -1,407,500 335,868 -1,643,770 -1,452,100 -50,642,750 -22,193,716 -4,585,304 65,250 -24,391,845 -517,230 -41,526,590 -20,673,810 201,110 17,719,205 4,632,587 -40,820 22,050 -2,173,035 3,421,014 -2,380 -1,428,225 3,400 -2,494,365 425,530 60,000 4,000 -223,780 -535,941 1,552,160 -7,101,309 -4,310 1,100 -36,330,455 -1,105,580 -900.0003 153,320 64,766 81,400 -41,610 -13,370 -8,440 33,600 10,654,657 102,595 -8,503,860 135,760.00 -13,100 -9,500 -1,510,150 -

SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES ALTUS PROP HAUS TALK ITALPINAS KEPWEALTH MERRYMART XURPAS

18 1.41 1.06 2.9 2.09 0.48

18.2 1.42 1.07 2.99 2.1 0.485

EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS

FIRST METRO ETF

110.5

110.9

18.42 1.49 1.08 2.9 2.16 0.53

18.42 1.49 1.08 2.99 2.16 0.53

17.7 1.4 1.04 2.9 2.09 0.47

18 1.42 1.07 2.9 2.1 0.485

111,100 19,544,000 721,000 7,000 5,369,000 20,655,000

2,007,340 28,238,570 758,690 20,570 11,358,780 10,092,600

-10,662 -70,070 35,200 54,510 -59,050 -19,895

111.1 111.1 110.5 110.5 14,620 1,620,107 40,486

www.businessmirror.com.ph

No bidders again in auction of luxury cars By Bernadette D. Nicolas @BNicolasBM

HE government’s second public auction of five seized luxury cars once again fetched no bidders, opening the possibility for the Duterte administration to resort to destroying these vehicles. Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III told reporters the government may consider destroying these vehicles. “Destruction is an option,” said Dominguez, who ordered the resumption of government’s disposal of luxury vehicles seized by the BOC through public auction. Previously, smuggled vehicles were destroyed instead of being auctioned off as the BOC followed President Duterte’s directive. Duterte has said in 2018 he wanted to do away with the public auction of smuggled luxury cars as he alleged that smugglers take advantage of the auction to buy the vehicles at a cheaper price. But it appears no one took advantage of the auction: the second last Monday received no bids. This prompted the Inter-Agency Auction Committee to declare a failed bidding for each of the five cars. It was a déjà vu of sorts: the first auction a month ago of the same seized vehicles also resulted in the declaration of failed bidding due to the absence of bidders. “In today’s auction, again there was no bidder that registered or even manifested interest in this public auction today. So in that case, I move that this second auction be declared as a failed bidding,” Customs Deputy Commissioner Atty. Edward James Dy Buco said during the livestreamed event. A successful auction would haved bagged the government at least P29.087 million. Deputy Treasurer Erwin D. Sta. Ana said they would be seeking their principals’ guidance on the next steps that the auction committee will take regarding the cars. Sta. Ana said the options include negotiated sale or destruction of these vehicles following the two failed biddings. Dy Buco said the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA) allows the BOC to donate seized vehicles to other government offices for public use, However, he said this cannot be done in this case. “Under the CMTA, under the rules, after the second failed bidding, the vehicles may be donated or given to public offices for public use. But inasmuch as these public vehicles are luxury vehicles, they cannot be utilized for public use,” Dy Buco said. The most expensive luxury car that was up for public auction is the 2008 Ferrari Scuderia 430 with a floor price of P23.225 million. Other vehicles up for auction were the 2001 Porsche Boxster with a floor price of P1.798 million; a 2011 Mercedes E220 (P1.492 million); a 2001 Mercedes SLK55 (P1.324 million); and, a 2001 Mercedes SLK350 worth P1.248 million.

Banking&Finance BusinessMirror

PESONet clearing batch now 2x a day

By Bianca Cuaresma

@BcuaresmaBM

HE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the Philippine Payments Management Inc. launched the Multiple Batch Settlement (MBS) facility of the PESONet electronic fund transfer service on Monday. The MBS—which went live this morning, according to the

BSP—effectively increases PESONet’s daily batch settlement

to two cycles in a banking day from the one batch settlement of fund transfers at the end of the banking day. Launched in November 2017, PESONet is the first automated clearing house under the National Retail Payment System. It can be considered as an electronic alternative to paper-based check payments. BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno said the MBS not only would allow for more volume clearances but also helps in the risk management of participating banks. “[The] PESONet MBS allows for better risk management for participating banks and electronic money

issuers as settlement of transactions may be divided within two cycles in a banking day,” Diokno added. The governor also said the morning and end-of-day settlement cycles of the PESONet fund transfers aim to address the demand of the business community for shorter clearing intervals to better manage cash flows. “For example, a business can ensure timely crediting of payroll funds since [the] PESONet MBS allows the transfer of funds and the receipt of the same by employees within the same banking day,” Diokno said. “Since funds are made

available earlier, [the] PESONet MBS can cut production cycle time that boosts economic productivity.” With more frequent settlement cycles under the PESONet MBS, person-to-government payments made via EGov Pay will also be improved, according to the central bank governor. EGov Pay is an online facility that allows citizens to pay taxes and other fees due to government institutions, including permits and fees. In 2021, the value of disbursements of the state-run pensionfund manager Social Security System coursed through PESONet reached P158.47 billion.

Treasury raises ₧15B from T-bills sale as investors eye Fed signals

HE Bureau of the Treasury fully awarded P15-billion in Treasury Bills (T-Bills) as rates declined while investors await rate-hike cues from the US Federal Reserve. Investors took advantage of the short-term tenors, causing a decline in rates across all tenors compared to those from the previous auction and the secondary market. Monday’s auction of T-bills was five times oversubscribed, with total bids reaching P76.4 billion. National Treasurer Rosalia V. De

Leon said the auction results reflect the behavior of investors on the Fed: “waiting for signal from Fed for rate liftoff.” Such stance has led to a “strong bias for short term tenors,” which was “seen in the auction with sharp reduction on rates.” De Leon added that the Federal Open Market Committee meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday and the press conference of Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will provide guidance on the movement of the shortterm rates.

She also said they will also be considering the outcome of the Fed meeting in formulating the domestic borrowing program for February. Investor expectations that the Fed will start raising interest rates were bolstered after the US inflation rate for 2021 hit a 40-year-high at 7 percent. Monetary authorities usually raise rates to stem the rise in inflation. Investors in government securities also usually want higher rates. The preference for shorter ten-

SEC orders unlicensed Goodpocket, Easymoney to stop lending activities By VG Cabuag

@villygc

HE Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has ordered Goodpocket and Easymoney Lending Corp. to stop conducting its lending operations as it has no license from the agency. In an order issued last January 18, the SEC directed Goodpocket and Easymoney to immediately cease and desist from engaging in, carrying out, promoting and facilitating any lending activity until they have secured the necessary approval and authorization from the SEC. The companies, their owners, operators, promoters, representatives, and agents were also asked to cease from offering and advertising their lending business through the internet or any other media and to remove all materials involving its activities. The SEC issued the order after finding that Goodpocket and Easymoney have been conducting lending activities despite not being registered

as a corporation. Both companies have no Certificates of Authority to operate as a lending or financing company. Republic Act 9474, or the Lending Company Regulation Act of 2007 (LCRA), requires persons or entities operating as lending companies to register as corporations and to secure from the SEC the necessary authority to operate. “Thus, the act of these online lending operators in offering and providing loans to the public constitutes actual fraud which was intentionally employed to lead the public into the belief that they are legally authorized to engage in the lending business which is not and has never been the case,” the agency said in its order. The SEC found out about the two firms’ activities after it received complaints about the companies’ unfair collection processes, including the posting of libelous statements against borrowers on social media and the sending of such statements to their phone contacts.

“The acts of these unregistered online lending operators in illegally offering and providing loans to the public, charging high interest rates and subjecting its debtors to unfair treatment through abusive and even libelous language in collecting the loaned amount, have no place in a society that is governed by and faithfully adheres to positive laws,” the regulator said. To date, the SEC has canceled the licenses of 36 financing and lending companies due to various violations of applicable rules and regulations. It has also revoked the certificate of registration of a total of 2,081 lending companies for their failure to secure the requisite certificate of authority. In total, 60 online lending applications have been ordered to cease operations for lack of authority to operate as a lending or financing company. The morsestar-dot-com website has content that says Goodpocket “has been registered and supervised by Philippines [sic] government.”

SEC taps partners for financial literacy

HE Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) tapped 18 institutions, including fund managers and investment houses, to expand its financial literacy campaign that aims to encourage more Filipinos to place their money in safe investments. In a report, SEC Chairman-CEO Emil B. Aquino said the regulator’s recent financial literacy campaign on social media reached close to a

million people, with over 240,000 views and clicks and 43,000 engagements as of the last quarter of last year. Meanwhile, Aquino also said in a recent Department of Finance (DOF) executive meeting that the SEC will access crowdfunding portals to target companies for listing, along with micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), other large firms and companies

with franchises, to achieve its goal of listing 888 firms in the capital markets for corporate financing or capital raising by the time the SEC celebrates its 88th anniversary in 2024. The current number of publicly-listed companies is 274, with another four waiting to be listed and three with pending applications this year. Bernadette D. Nicolas

LandBank cites success in collaboration with PSA

tate-owned Land Bank of the Philippines reported that it has onboarded 7.2 million unbanked Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) registrants end2021 as a result of its collaboration with the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). The bank said in a statement on Monday that the new bank registrants is a result of their co-location strategy with the PSA at registration sites nationwide for the PhilSys Project, where qualified unbanked

Editor: Dennis D. Estopace • Tuesday, January 25, 2022

registrants are provided with their own transaction accounts free-ofcharge and with no initial deposit requirement. The bank also reaffirmed its support to the National Government’s target of providing at least one bank account for every Filipino household equivalent to 13.5 million accounts throughout the whole co-location partnership with the PSA. “We have so far made significant headway in bringing unbanked PhilSys registrants into the formal

banking system, as we continue our strategic and fruitful partnership with the PSA,” Landbank President and CEO Cecilia C. Borromeo said. Breaking down the 7.2 million onboarded national ID registrants nationwide, 1.6 million are from Central Luzon, 1.4 million from Eastern Mindanao, 1.2 million from Eastern Visayas and 1.1 million from Western Visayas. The bank also said the carded PhilSys registrants have already utilized their Landbank prepaid cards

for various transactions amounting to P86.1 million. These include loading cash into their accounts, withdrawals at Automated Teller Machines, and making payments via point-of-sale terminals and online, among others. Meanwhile, the state-run bank clarified anew that its prepaid cards being issued to unbanked national ID registrants are not pre-loaded with government subsidy or ‘ayuda’, in response to fake news circulating in social media. Bianca Cuaresma

ors in Monday’s auction pushed rates for the 91-day T-bills lower at a 0.693-percent average rate, an 18.2 basis-point-drop from the previous auction’s 0.875 percent. The tenor attracted P27.98 billion in bids, equivalent to more than five times the P5-billion offering. Meanwhile, rates for the 182day T-bills averaged at 1.077 percent, down by 2 basis points from 1.097 percent. Tenders for the debt paper amounted to P27.86 billion, also more than five times the P5-

billion offering. Lastly, the 364-day T-bills capped at an average rate of 1.41 percent, slipping by 0.5 basis point from 1.415 percent. Bids for the security hit P20.53 billion, more than four times the P5-billion offering. For this month, the Treasury is set to borrow P200 billion from the local debt market. For this year, the national government programmed to borrow P2.47 trillion, down by nearly a fifth from P3.07 trillion this year. Bernadette D. Nicolas

How to have an awesome financial health this 2022

VERY year, we are setting life goals and, maybe you are like me, also setting financial

goals. It’s a good time to start tracking our income and expenses so we can have wise decisions moving forward. Given that we are experiencing a pandemic, we need to align our financial behavior with the environment and for us to achieve our goals. Regular assessment is important in financial planning. Managing our finances requires an honest look at our habits, biases, expectation and actual cash inflow. I’m sharing some steps to improve our financial health this 2022. 1. Examine your income and expenses. One of the major focus of our assessment is the spending habits that we have. Do we spend in accordance to our needs and with budget on our wants; or do we exceed our income because of unnecessary expenses? Once we established the aspect of spending, we can now look at our cash flow. The money that comes in can be fixed if you’re an employee or, if you’re an entrepreneur, it could be variable; but at least with a projected amount. Through income-and-expense tracking, we can see the bigger picture if we need to increase our cash-flow by having a side income. Maybe we can lessen our expenses so we can still have surplus at the end of the month and eventually for the whole year. 2. Create an automated savings plan. Building our savings is a matter of habit. If we are really having a hard time setting aside a portion of our income, why not automate it? We can do this by opening a savings account and applying our payroll account to auto-debit arrangements. In this way, the amount that you want to save will be deducted every month. 3. Start/review your investments. If you are planning to start investing, it is wise to start early. You can check financial products that are suitable in your needs in institutions such as banks, insurance companies and brokerages. If you’re a seasoned investor, you may assess opportunities around that can help you achieve your short term or long term goals. As we start the year, if you have a surplus from 2021, it may be a good time for you to position additional investment funds.

Karlo Biglang-Awa

personal finance 4. Check your insurance portfolio. This pandemic made us realize the importance of getting protection, especially with the uncertainties of getting sick. Health insurance plans can help us be cushioned from the expenses due to medical needs. This way, we can protect our savings and investments from being depleted. The way to build our target retirement or educational funds is to have adequate protection, especially if we have dependents in the family. If you’re a parent, getting insured is a way to prepare the financial future of your family. 5. Start monetizing your passion. Creating another source of income will help you have a more flexible budget for your family and love ones. For example, if you’re an employee earning around P80,000 a month and you found out that your passion in baking can be a source of P20,000 a month, you can have an extra amount that is a fourth of your income for other goals. May it be buying a car or blessing your parents and/or friends who are in need of help this season. This time we need to be creative to maximize our talents also and be productive during our free time. With the rising cases of the new Covid variant, we need to be diligent, plan ahead and, of course, prioritize our health. We can always say that health is really wealth. If we are not careful, our investments can be put to waste with just a sudden health issue. Above all this, we are all hopeful that our economy will recover soon and we can go out with peace of mind. Do not be overwhelmed by what’s happening but take small steps with the things that you can control may it be in your family, work or business. Together as a nation we will thrive and make a difference in our community. Karlo Biglang-Awa is a registered financial planner of RFP Philippines. To learn more about personal-financial planning, attend the 93rd RFP program this January 2022. To inquire, e-mail info@rfp.ph or text at 0917-6248110.

Art

BusinessMirror

Tuesday, January 25, 2022 • Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Online auction to help art enthusiasts boost their collections An untitled charcoalon-paper pastoral scene by Juan Luna is among the coveted lots in León Exchange (www. leonexchange.com), a three-day online auction that runs from January 28 to 30.

➊ Port of Atlag, Erwin Mallari, watercolor on paper

By Jose Ostonal

ew and established art collectors eager to boost their art trove may check out León Exchange, the online platform of leading auction house Leon Gallery, which will hold its auction for the new year from January 28 to 30. The three-day online trading will bid out fine watches, jewelry, ephemera, and other collectibles on its first day; paintings and sculptures on its second; and antique religious icons and furniture and home décor on its third. As always, “The Collector’s Vault” auction of artworks is the most anticipated. Perhaps expected to attract fierce bidding is a charcoal-onpaper Untitled pastoral scene by Juan Luna (1857-1899). “These quick sketches and close-in reviews of his world were done to satisfy only his own standards,” wrote the late Ramon Villegas, “to see if what he saw in his mind was as pleasing as what his brush could paint, and what his eyes could see.” Also up for bidding are several works by Angel Cacnio, who passed away just last year at 90. His colorful depictions of Philippine traditions and folk characters relive a bygone era of grace and simplicity. Oscar Zalameda (1930-2010) has become an auction darling lately as the works of the late Quezon artist have been rediscovered more and more by younger generations for their attractive and colorful Cubism. A world traveler and a very sophisticated artist, Zalameda chose to paint folk images of a gentler Philippines. One could never go wrong with a piece by the very versatile National Artist Federico Aguilar Alcuaz (1932-2011), whose works span several styles and idioms, all of which he did with panache. To be auctioned in particular is a landscape of Baguio City. Critic Rod Paras-Perez described Aguilar Alcuaz as an “epic troubadour of the urban landscape.” The works of bestselling National Artist Ang Kiukok (1931-2005) will also up for bidding. Aside from a 1981 tempera-on-paper painting (Mother and Child), avid collectors may want to check out several pen-and-ink-onpaper works from the 1970s. One of Ang Kiukok’s teachers at University of Santo

Today’s Horoscope By Eugenia Last

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Alicia Keys, 41; Mia Kirshner, 47; Ana Ortiz, 51; Jenifer Lewis, 65. Happy Birthday: Gather the facts, and be armed with the truth as you travel through unknown territory this year. Knowledge will be the key to your success and your ability to adjust to trends. Think big, but stay within your limits both physically and financially. Know what you are up against, and prepare diligently to ensure you reach your goal. Your numbers are 5, 18, 24, 27, 30, 36, 44.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Surround yourself with trustworthy people. Be direct, and don't let your emotions interfere with your work or relationships with others. Indecisiveness will make you look incompetent. When in doubt, take a pass and revisit your options. HHHH

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Make sure you know what you're doing before you begin. If you don't live up to your promises, it will affect your reputation and hurt your chance to advance. Stick to the plan, and don't take unnecessary risks. HHH

Olazo, Antonio Austria, Angelito Antonio, Anita MagsaysayHo, Napoleon Abueva, Ramon Orlina, Ed Castrillo, Malang, Hugo Yonzon Jr., Justin Nuyda, Macario Vitalis, Cesar Buenaventura, Paco Gorospe, Solomon Saprid, Prudencio Lamarozza, Hermes Alegre, and JD Castro. Contemporary artists in the auction include Ronald Ventura, Bernard Pacquing, Alfred Esquillo, Geraldine Javier, Marcel Antonio and Jonathan Olazo. In the important auction of antique icons and furniture as well as home décor and objets d’art (“Heiresses’ Homes and Tables”), highlights are the collections of the late fashion designer Criselda Lontok and the late Negros Occidental politician Gloria Araneta Esteban. A preview of these lots is being held until January 27, at Warehouse 14, La Fuerza Compound, Don Chino Roces Avenue, Makati City. Check out the online catalogue at https://leon-gallery.com. All bidding will be online at www.leonexchange.com.

Tomas, National Artist Victorio Edades (1895-1985), is represented by a beautiful landscape of Davao City, incidentally also Ang’s hometown, where Edades spent his retirement and last years. The bucolic scene shows the master still in full possession of his powers. Premiere modernist Nena Saguil (1924-1994) made use of the circle as her primary iconography and rendered its geometry in very expressive abstraction. An Untitled work along this very unique idiom is up for bidding. Acrylic paintings on paper or canvas by “poetic surrealist” painter Juvenal Sanso (born 1929) may interest new and established collectors of the Philippines-born Catalan painter. National Artist Benedicto “Bencab” Cabrera is represented by charcoal- or pastel-on-paper works along the nude or figurative genres from the 1970s and 1980s. Other top modern artists represented in the exhibit are Norma Belleza, Manuel Baldemor, Romeo Tabuena, Romulo

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): You'll have trouble with someone you work alongside. Distance yourself to avoid an unnecessary run-in. Don't get involved in gossip or let anyone meddle in your affairs. Pay attention to your work, and take care of your responsibilities. HHH

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Express your feelings. It's OK to veer off in a direction that you find more creative and exciting. Reach out to people who share your likes and dislikes, and it will stimulate you to try something new. HHHHH

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Mixed emotions will surface if you disagree with what others are doing. If you push your will, be sure to have a workable solution before you begin to dominate conversations. Someone is likely to have a change of heart. HH

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Find out where you stand. How you treat others will determine the outcome of a situation you face with someone close to you. Don't limit your chance to be with someone you love because you aren't willing to share your feelings. HHHH

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Take care of business. Live up to your responsibilities. Keep your emotions in check and your work ethic in place. Getting worked up over something you cannot change or letting your emotions interfere with your productivity will damage your reputation. HHH

Essence of excellence

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): What you do is what counts. Reach out to people who share your interests, and make changes at home conducive to exploring something you want to pursue. A change may not be intentional or even wanted but, in hindsight, beneficial. HHH

❷ Felina, Hermes Alegre, acrylic on canvas

i If art in its broadest sense is a form of expression, then individuality is its precious currency. Artists and artworks are defined by the stories that shape them, from experiences to aspirations and everything in between. It is a unique amalgamation of variables that define the creator and the piece which, when fully owned and mastered, produces a style recognizable even with the slightest gaze. This mark, this essence is the focus of the latest presentation of Galerie Anna. In line with the celebration of National Arts Month in February, the gallery showcases the biggest names in the local art scene, featuring what they are best known for as artists. The star-studded group show, titled Tatak, gathers 18 artists on an invitation for an open-themed exhibition. The only requirement: present what best embodies their brand of artistry. Those who answered the call have each carved their place in today’s art landscape with their own celebrated styles, from venerated masters to sought-after up-and-comers. The proud list of presenting artists includes Gerry Joquico Jr., Joseph De Juras, Ferdinand Cacnio, Marge Organo, Olivia D’Aboville, Jun Impas, Fitz Herrera, Meneline Wong, M.D., Cezar Arro, Toti Cerda, Reynard Borillo and

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Keep life simple, doable and within your budget. Use your intelligence to evaluate your position. Someone will use emotional manipulation to push you in a questionable direction. Stand your ground, say no and do your own thing. HHH

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Show your feelings openly, and you'll bypass all the drama that comes and goes. Know what you want, and make your position clear. Adjustments at home will encourage you to live life your way. Romance is on the rise. HHHH

❶

➋

grace and elegance on brass welded as a dancer, clad in a twirling white dress, in Dance of Hope-Step Into My Life. Jun Impas captures in Bangon devastating realities depicted in oil. Meanwhile, Fitz Herrera showcases the evolution of his saccharine impasto in Happy (Series). Olivia D’Aboville, who specializes in tapestry and textile structures, having graduated with honors from a prestigious textile design school in Paris, takes on Philippine Silk. Tatak opens tomorrow, January 26, and runs until February 8 at Galerie Anna in SM Megamall. Follow the artspace on Facebook at facebook.com/galerieanna and Instagram at @galerieanna.

Hermes Alegre. Part of the fold as well are Ross Capili, Ronnie Lim, MD, Malyn Bonayog, Erwin Mallari, Julmard Vicente, and Raul Isidro. In Isidro’s acrylic-on-panel piece, for example, titled Woods, we see the hallmark poetic abstraction of one of the genre’s foremost figures, who choreographs textures and colors to a dance of spirited vitality. Likewise, the kinetic flow of Meneline Wong, a practicing obstetriciangynecologist whose artistic career began only five years ago, gushes in the show through A Brand New Day. Elsewhere is a plethora of genres and mediums from this broad showcase. Erwin Mallari comes through with his fluvial drama in Port of Atlag. Ferdinand Cacnio imbues

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): You've got the right idea; now speed things up a bit and pave a path forward. How you conduct yourself and what you have to offer will create a buzz if you let your unique, innovative mind take over. Proceed with confidence. HH

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Take care of your finances, legalities and health. Refuse to let anyone meddle in your affairs or push you in a direction that doesn't appeal to you. Make changes that will benefit you, not someone trying to take advantage of youl. HHHHH Birthday Baby: You are passionate, secretive and changeable. You are creative and enticing.

Universal Freestyle 3 by Craig Stowe The Universal Crossword/Edited by David Steinberg ACROSS 1 Common clickbait article format 5 Sheep sound 8 Praline ingredient 13 On the matter of 14 Programmer’s output 16 Ooze 17 Natural colors 18 Drink that sounds like its first letter 19 Enjoys some 18-Across 20 Suitable 21 Cocktail made with lime juice and gin 23 Slanted, in Sussex 25 If all goes well 26 Apple drink 28 Minor roadblock 29 Con artist, e.g. 31 Common bridal attire 34 ___ sticker (certain dumpling) 35 “Lights out!” 37 Writing tip? 39 Cry on a slide 41 Word that sounds like its first and last vowels

42 43 45 47 49 50 51 55 56 58 59 60 61 62 63

“Noble Blood” host Schwartz Puerto ___ Cultivated crops Sign for most of September “Strange ...” Bud Provide care to Scratch up Extra pieces Trait carrier One of 100 in the United States Ancient Peruvian Part of LGBTQ+ “That’s amusing” A rose’s is thorny

DOWN 1 Desperate final attempt 2 “Took me a minute to find that” 3 Spa offering with ancient Roman origins 4 Burned layer of creme brulee 5 Feathery scarves 6 Ambience 7 Crafts’ partner

8 Personal annoyance 9 Prefix with “friendly” or “tourism” 10 “___ O’Brien Needs a Friend” (weekly podcast) 11 Skilled 12 What a crane constructs 14 Home of the Space Needle 15 Kid 19 “___ So Shy” (hit for The Pointer Sisters) 22 Segment of a trip 24 “Where ___ we?” 26 Game with a hexagonal board 27 Pupil controller 30 Concept 32 Soon 33 Sequence of synchronized steps 35 Deep-fried pastries popular in New Orleans 36 Impatient kid’s request 38 Nightmare 40 Take a wrong turn, say 42 Many AMA members 44 Two-door car 46 Consumed

47 48 50 52 53 54 57 58

E-cig user Glazer of “Broad City” (Over here!) Not well thought out Oak or elm Zion National Park’s home Sprinted USO show attendees

Solution to today’s puzzle:

Show BusinessMirror

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Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

• Tuesday, January 25, 2022

Jamie Dornan talks ‘Belfast’, TV and going behind-the-scenes By Alicia Rancilio The Associated Press

EW YORK—One of the most memorable scenes in Belfast is when Jamie Dornan’s character serenades his wife (played by Caitriona Balfe) with “Everlasting Love.” The lighting, choreography and wardrobe makes Dornan look like a matinee idol. As the film makes the rounds at award shows— its ensemble is nominated at the SAG awards and it’s tied with West Side Story with 11 nominations at the Critics’ Choice Awards—Dornan says he has been approached “more than once” by “awards commentator-type pundits” about whether he would perform the song at this year’s Academy Awards, if asked. “Unless faced with the actual sincere prospect of it, I don’t really know how to answer that,” said Dornan. But he does add, “I would be so terrified to have to do something like that. I remember my mate years ago sang at the Oscars and I said to him at the time, ‘I can’t think of anything worse than what you have to do,’” he said, laughing. It would be a surprising move but Dornan is intrigued with those who keep people guessing. He counts Belfast director Kenneth Branagh as someone who checks that box. Branagh has starred in TV, stage and film and directed films ranging from Shakespeare to Thor. “How cool is his career that everyone sees him as representing something different. I love that and it’s inspiring.” Belfast stars Jude Hill, along with Judi Dench, Ciarán Hinds and Colin Morgan. The story is told from the perspective of Hill’s 9-year-old character, so sometimes scenes with Dornan and Balfe are partly obstructed because the camera only shows what the boy sees.

Inspiring viewers of all ages to dream big

“Often his view is obscured by a staircase or door frame or whatever it is, he’s hiding around the corner. So you often end up in these really quite cool abstract shots because that’s kind of like how he would see,” Dornan said. Dornan is also enjoying the success of his new series The Tourist, now airing in the UK and coming this year to HBO Max. He plays a man who wakes up in an Australia hospital with amnesia and kicks off a twisty race to figure out who he is and what’s happened. “The response in the UK to that show is insane.

It’s so cool because it is sort of a slightly bonkers show, but in the best way. And I just wanted people to be willing to go on the ride with it because it’s very unique in its tone,” he said. Dornan says The Tourist is so surprising that he jokes he’s “not sure I still know all the answers and I’ve seen it all.” He also says it’s one of his projects he’s actually made a point to watch because so many people were talking about it. Like most, television is a big part of Dornan’s night life with his wife, musician Amelia Warner.

He says the clear favorite “like every single person who has a television,” is HBO’s Succession. “That’s something we devour. We’re also in the middle of The Shrink Next Door, which I’m enjoying. My wife will watch And Just Like That and I won’t. I’ll go and get some work done.” “I actually went to do something the other night and she was going to watch And Just Like That. Whatever I went to do got canceled and I came back and she was like gutted,” he laughed. “I said, ‘You know what? You can have your night.’” Dornan, who is perhaps best-known for his role in the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy, credits the 2013 TV series The Fall, for changing his career. He said The Fall, where he played a serial killer—masked as a grief counselor—has continued to have “bursts of life” thanks to streaming. “I was shooting Belfast in the summer of 2020 and everyone in the crew was talking about The Fall on set. And I said, ‘You’re watching The Fall?’ and I realized it had just been put up on Netflix in the UK.” While Belfast continues to move along the awards circuit, Dornan is reading scripts to figure out his next move. He also co-wrote a film screenplay last year that he hopes to get made in the next year or so. Writing, he says, is something he’s always done but it’s hard to commit the time to. “We have three kids. It’s lunacy at any given moment in our private life, so it’s very hard to find time, especially if you’re working. You put all the limited free time you do have with the kids.” He says during lockdown he was able to get more accomplished because he and his wife would trade shifts with the kids to each get work done. “My biggest fear is being idle. I’m lucky that I’ve been able to do a lot of different stuff, particularly the last few years. But that doesn’t mean I don’t have ideas beyond standing on my mark and saying my lines. I want to do other stuff in that world.”

Breakthroughs and milestones Clockwise: Sheila Francisco, Sid Lucero, Rita Martinez and Rhen Escaño, Paolo Gumabao and Vince Rillon.

JO BERRY

Making its debut last January 10 in GMA’s afternoon block is a new tale of family, success and perseverance designed to inspire viewers—the much-awaited series Little Princess. Multitalented actress Jo Berry leads the star-studded cast as Princess Montivano, a little person who has big dreams despite growing up poor. As she finds out that she is an heiress, how can she adjust to her new life if people are out to challenge her claim? “Sobra po akong happy sa role ko as Princess. So far sa lahat ng nagawa ko, ito yung favorite ko kasi ito yung pinakachallenging. I’m so thankful na binigay po sa akin itong role. Palagi akong binibigyan ng GMA ng role na makabuluhan at inspiring. Iyon din naman po ‘yung pangarap kong gawin, ang maka-inspire ng maraming tao,” said Jo. Joining Jo in the series are Rodjun Cruz as Jaxon Pineda, Princess’ best friend; and Juancho Trivino as Damien Santiago, Princess’ secret crush. Rodjun, who is grateful to GMA for his first leading man role, believes the project is God’s answer to his prayers: “Pinagdasal ko rin talaga ‘to kay Lord. Parang birthday gift na rin sa akin kasi nag-birthday ako sa fist lock-in taping. Nagulat pa ako nung sinabi sa akin na si Jo Berry yung makakasama ko. Dati na rin kasi kami nagkasama sa isang show. Sabi ko sa kanya noon, ‘Sana magsama pa tayo sa isang show. Malay mo, maging magka-love team pa tayo.’ Hanggang sa ito na nga, nagkatambal uli kami.” Playing equally vital roles in the series are Angelika Dela Cruz as Elise Reyes, Princess’ mother; Jestoni Alarcon as Marcus Montivano, Princess’ biological father; Geneva Cruz as Odessa Montivano, Marcus’ wife. Also in the cast are Jenine Desiderio, Tess Antonio, Therese Malvar, Chuckie Dreyfus, Lander VeraPerez, Gabrielle Hahn, Kaloy Tingcungco and Marx Topacio. Under the supervision of GMA Entertainment Group led by SVP for Entertainment Group Lilybeth G. Rasonable, Little Princess is directed by LA Madridejos and Don Michael Perez, with Linnet Zurbano and Ralfh Malabunga as associate directors . Little Princess airs weekdays after Las Hermanas. More information about the show and others can be found at www. GMANetwork.com.

The first month of the new year is not even over and we have already learned and read about plenty of good news in the local entertainment industry. Others may consider some of these as small victories but whether massive or minuscule, what’s important is each achievement is a milestone. The first piece of good news we received was that a film from the Philippines has been accepted in the World Drama section of the highly-touted but difficultto-penetrate Sundance Film Festival. Martika Escobar’s Leonor Will Never Die, only the second film to date that made it to this section at Sundance, is a tale about a retired writer-filmmaker who falls into a coma after being hit on her head by a television, driving her to become the action hero of her unfinished movie script. The film stars veteran theater actress Sheila Francisco (who gets what is perhaps the biggest breakthrough role of her movie career), Anthony Falcon, Rocky Salumbides and Bong Cabrera. The festival is ongoing at this time but Escobar, producer Coreen Jimenez and the entire entourage who were supposed to fly to Utah to represent the film and the Philippines, have to remain in the country when Sundance canceled the whole inperson festival and opted for an online edition instead because of the continuing worldwide surge in coronavirus cases.

A million mark

Because streaming is the in thing of the pandemic era, the Del Rosario family-owned Vivamax streaming platform, launched around this time a year ago, has already reached the 2 million subscription mark, and is available in major cities around the globe. We spoke to Valerie del Rosario who proudly shared with us that in 2021 alone, Vivamax produced 35 original movie titles and a few series for this platform. “We are targeting to produce 52 projects this 2022, and we are confident that we will hit this goal, with the many collaborations we are getting into with filmmakers and content creators.” For this week alone, Vivamax has started to stream Mac Alejandre’s Silip sa Apoy starring Sid Lucero, Angeli Khang and Cindy Miranda; Brillante Mendoza’s Sisid, featuring Paolo Gumabao, Kylie Versoza and Vince Rillion; Lawrence Fajardo’s Reroute, headlined by John

Arcilla,Nathalie Hart, Cindy Miranda and Sid Lucero; and Lulu, a lesbian-themed series directed by Sigrid Andrea Bernardo starring Rita Martinez and Rhen Escaño.

Women power producers

Two promising Filipino film producers will be the country’s representatives to the 22nd Rotterdam Lab, which is part of the 51st International Film Festival Rotterdam in the Netherlands. Carmela Acol of TEN17P and Stella Laguda of KT House

Productions were chosen by the Film Development Council of the Philippines, headed by its chairperson Liza Diño who told us, “For two consecutive years, the Philippines has been represented by exceptional emerging female producers at the Rotterdam Lab. What these ladies will get there will be invaluable to jumpstart their film production careers, and they will get to learn more about the vast international networking opportunities where they can create long term connections.”

B6 Tuesday, January 25, 2022

The Manila Hotel reopens Café Ilang-Ilang and The Champagne Room this January

Resorts World Manila sends L.O.V.E. care packages to Odette survivors

LITTLE L.O.V.E. goes a long way with Resorts World Manila’s (RWM) Typhoon Odette relief efforts. When typhoon Odette (international name Rai) swept through the nation towards the end of 2021, thousands of Filipino families’ holiday season was cloaked in darkness. The typhoon devastation left damages to property and businesses at a time when most were gearing up for cheerful yearend holidays. Stephen Reilly, RWM Chief Operating Officer, shares his heartfelt gratitude for the employees’ selflessness during these difficult times, “The holidays are indeed the season of giving, and it truly warms my heart to see our Thrillmakers band together and show a true passion for people by supporting our relief initiative. With joy and peace in our hearts, let us spread strength, gratitude, and inspiration to those in need. These are all of the season’s most precious gifts we can give.” The League Of Volunteer Employees (L.O.V.E.), RWM’s umbrella program for CSR, in the midst of limited business operations, came together to provide relief to those severely affected. The CSR team immediately deployed donation boxes to collect relief supplies at various common areas

within the RWM offices. Employees pooled resources together and filled up over 180 boxes of relief supplies like ready-to-eat food, drinking water, and other hygiene and sanitation essentials such as face masks, alcohol, and dental kits. The integrated resort’s CSR team coordinated with the Philippine Coast

Guard for immediate deployment of donations to the most vulnerable areas in Bohol and Palawan. For more information on RWM operations, visit www.rwmanila.com and follow @rwmanila on Facebook and Twitter, and @resortsworldmanila Instagram.

RWM’s League Of Volunteer Employees led by Chief Operating Officer Stephen Reilly (center) sends L.O.V.E. care packages to Typhoon Odette survivors in Bohol and Palawan. Philippine Coast Guard CG CDR Rosendo Abinoja III (center-right) is also present to receive the care packages.

OCP distributes relief goods to Odette-stricken communities through i-Rebuild program

O extend immediate assistance to families affected by Typhoon Odette, Operation Compassion Philippines (OCP) mobilized deployment of relief goods in Southern Leyte on January 10-13, 2022. On January 7, OCP volunteers together with several Philippine National Police (PNP) personnel helped unload and pack relief goods at the Immaculate Concepcion Covered Court in Sogod town. During the first day of relief operations, OCP held a distribution in the Pacific Area in coordination with the Office of the Vice President Angat Buhay volunteers. The relief efforts were continued in Panaon Island and Sogod Bay, which were among the hardest-hit areas by Typhoon Odette. A total of 5000 relief packs were distributed to families which included

family food packs and nonfood items and hygiene necessities such as face masks and sanitary pads. Each food pack contains 4 pieces of canned goods and 1 1-liter bottled water. The relief items were donated by Mobile Legends developer Moonton Phils Technology. “Our partner communities in Visayas have been struggling in the aftermath of Typhoon Odette. With several roads closed and power and communication lines heavily damaged in most areas, residents have been in dire need of food, water and shelter so our immediate goal is really to mobilize our teams to distribute family food packs,” OCP Managing Director Gerry Muni said. “We will continue to monitor the situation in Southern Leyte and respond to the needs of the residents whenever we can. We believe that through our collaborative efforts, we

RELIEF items donated by Mobile Legends developer Moonton Phils Technology

can help alleviate the situation of our fellow countrymen,” OCP President Butch Albert added. For over 17 years, OCP has been dedicated to aiding Filipinos through wide disaster relief operations, extending emergency relief to far-flung areas devastated by natural calamities. Through the i-Rebuild program, OCP aims to uplift communities through long-term rebuilding efforts, which includes livelihood training and trauma counseling for affected families. Cash donations may be deposited to Bank of the Philippine Islands Account No. 3321 0462 49 under the name of Operation Compassion Philippines Inc.; BPI Dollar Account 3324 0418 84 with the SwiftCode: BOPIPHMM; GCash 0917 843 3041 under the name of Susan Cucio. For more information, https://www. facebook.com/operationcompassionph

HE Manila Hotel’s dining outlets, the famed Café Ilang-Ilang and the iconic Champagne Room reopens soon after undergoing a few weeks of general maintenance starting January 28, 2022. Café Ilang-Ilang enjoys a loyal following among local and foreign guests as it offers authentic international fare as well as family-friendly dining experience. It continues to draw diners with its daily offering of gastronomic delights coupled with the culinary team’s passion to create an amazing spread of dishes that is in keeping with its acclaimed status as one of the best buffet restaurants in the country. Diners can indulge in the Café’s wide range of food selections for lunch and dinner daily. This brings together Italian, Filipino, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and even certified Halal dishes under one roof for an indulgent eat-all-you-can feast featuring crowd favorites like the US Beef Rib Roast; items from the Churrasco station like meats and salmon; seafood like prawns and crabs; a glorious spread of different sushi and sashimi; Filipino favorites like Lechon with truffle rice; Chinese highlights like duck and various dimsum; an array of desserts including bibingka, puto bumbong, and halo-halo; and many more. Meanwhile, The Champagne Room, Manila’s premier destination for exquisite fine dining, will start accepting diners again on February 2, 2022. The most romantic room in the country marks the return of its fine dining just in time for Valentine month. The Champagne Room will welcome guests with an option for walk-in and reservations four days a week (Wednesday through Saturday), with select a la carte items and special multi-course

degustation menus to choose from— conceived by the hotel’s Executive Chef to showcase what this dining outlet is all about. Think generous servings of Black Angus Tenderloin, US Prime Beef Rib, the Chilean Sea Bass, or the satisfying Seafood Medley; there are also choices of starters; and for dessert, don’t miss out on the indulgent sweet delight—its signature Baked Alaska. Café Ilang-Ilang and The Champagne Room still implement physical distancing and reduced capacity measure that are compliant with the IATF and DOT guidelines for restaurants. For more information, call hotline numbers at (02) 85270011 or 09989501912. Book online for Café IlangIlang via https://www.manila-hotel. com.ph/dining/cafe-ilang-ilang/ and The Champagne Room via https://www.manilahotel.com.ph/dining/champagne-room/.

Research shows Sputnik V vaccine as highly effective against the Omicron variant

PUTNIK V is twice more effective than the Pfizer vaccine in neutralizing activity against the Omicron - this is the main takeaway from the latest analysis by Italy’s Experimental Institute Lazzaro Spallanzani, Russia’s Gamaleya Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology and Moscow State Sechenov Medical University. The researchers pitted Russia’s GamCOVID-Vac jab, which is marketed around the world as Sputnik V, and PfizerBioNTech COMIRNATY mRNA vaccine against each other in a comparative preprint study, which has been published by the well-known MedRxiv portal – a global hub for medical, clinical and related health sciences. The goal was to explore the efficacy of the two COVID-19 vaccines against the Omicron variant. The examination has been done by the 12 Italian scientists in a lab setting in Rome, using blood serum samples of persons vaccinated with these jabs, who had similar levels of IgG (immunoglobulin G) antibodies and the same neutralizing activity against the initial variant of novel coronavirus registered in Wuhan, China. The group’s findings show that in comparison with the Pfizer jab, Sputnik V had 2,1 times more neutralizing antibodies against the Omicron in general, and 2,6 times more antibodies three months after vaccination. When it comes to in-depth analysis of protection mechanisms, researchers noted that Sputnik V neutralizes the Omicron variant because it forms a stronger immune response due to the high level of antibodies. When reviewing the basic level of RBD (receptor-binding domain)-specific IgG antibodies, researchers pointed that within the upper 25 percent of samples with highest levels of IgG, 100 percent of individuals vaccinated with Sputnik V had these antibodies, compared to 83.3 percent in the Pfizer group. In total 74,2 percent of Sputnik V blood serum samples successfully neutralized the Omicron compared to 56,9 percent for Pfizer. As to reasons why Sputnik V forms such an immense response to Omicron, there are several factors at play, such as producing a much broader specter of neutralizing antibodies, whilst the Pfizer jab uses the S-protein in proline-stabilized form aimed against specific parts of the antigen molecules, which, in case of the

Omicron are usually deformed by virus’s mutations. Sputnik V’s heterologous prime boost technology also plays a role, with Russian vaccine using two different carrier adenovirus vectors, with human adenoviral vector platform itself having an additional advantage of better imitation of the infection. The Spallanzani-Gamaleya MedRxiv publication mentions this approach as the most effective one: “Today the necessity of third booster vaccination is obvious. And the most effective approach, already shown in several studies, is the use of heterologous booster vaccination pioneered in COVID-19 vaccines by Sputnik V.” The Sputnik Light vaccine is based on the human adenovirus serotype 26, which is also used as the first component of the two-dose Sputnik V. Plans for its production have been announced by manufacturers in countries such as China and India, South Korea and Vietnam, Serbia, Mexico, Argentina and Turkey. Among facilities on the list is the Serum Institute of India, which is known as the world’s largest vaccine producer. RDIF – the Russian Direct Investment Fund, is the country's sovereign wealth fund, established to make equity coinvestments, primarily in Russia, alongside international strategic and financial investors. is in charge of Sputnik V and Sputnik Light’s production and international distribution. RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev has underlined the importance of the Russian vaccine in providing protection against the Omicron, which has been confirmed by the Spallanzani-Gamaleya study: “The adenoviral vector platform has already shown high efficacy in combatting coronavirus mutations in the past. Heterogenous boosting with the use of Sputnik Light could raise the effectiveness of other vaccines, and partnership between various vaccine platforms plays a key role in light of challenges created by the simultaneous presence of Delta and Omicron variants.” Sputnik V is authorized for use in 71 countries with a total population of 4 billion people. The Omicron variant of SARSCov-2 has been identified in November of 2021 and has rapidly become the dominant type of the novel coronavirus around the world. As of 12 January, 2022, the Omicron has been registered in 150 countries.

www.businessmirror.com.ph • Editor: Angel R. Calso

TheWorld

China sends 39 warplanes toward Taiwan, largest sortie in new year

A IPEI, Ta iwa n— C h ina flew 39 warplanes toward Taiwan in its largest such sortie of the new year, continuing a pattern that the island has answered by scrambling its own jets in response. The formation Sunday night included 24 J-16 fighter jets and 10 J-10 jets, among other support aircraft and electronic warfare aircraft, according to Taiwan’s defense ministry. Taiwan’s air force scrambled its own jets and tracked the People’s Liberation Army planes on its air defense radar systems, the defense ministry said. Chinese pilots have been flying towards Taiwan on a near-daily basis in the past year and a half, since Taiwan’s government started publishing the data regularly. The largest sortie was 56 warplanes on a single day last October. The activity has generally been

in the air space southwest of Taiwan and falls into what Taiwan’s military calls the air defense identification zone, or air space it monitors out of national security considerations. Taiwan and China split during a civil war in 1949, but China claims the island as its own territory. As a result, Beijing opposes any action that would identify Taiwan as a sovereign state and has used diplomatic and military means to isolate and intimidate Taiwan. Tensions have been high since Taiwanese citizens elected Tsai Ing-wen as president in 2016, to which Beijing responded by cutting off previously established communications with the island’s government. Tsai’s predecessor was friendly to China and had endorsed Beijing’s claim that the two are part of a single Chinese nation. AP

US lessens Ukraine embassy presence as war fears mount

BusinessMirror

OSCOW—New coronavirus infections in Russia reached an all-time high on Sunday, the third consecutive daily record as the highly contagious Omicron variant spreads through the country. The national coronavirus task force reported 63,205 new infections tallied in 24 hours—a spike of more than 25 percent since the record set on Friday. The task force reported 679 deaths, similar to other daily death counts in the past week. The Omicron variant has been detected in 64 of the country’s 89 regions and Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova says that authorities expect it to become the dominant variant. Just about half of Russia’s 146 million people have been fully vaccinated despite the fact that Russia was among the first in the world to approve and roll out a Covid-19 vaccine. In Russia, everyone who received their primary vaccination more than six months

ago has been eligible for a booster shot since July. Gogov.ru, an independent website that tracks vaccinations, estimates that 8.8 million people have also received a booster shot. Still, daily new infections in Russia have been steadily climbing since January 10. Russia’s state coronav ir us task force has registered 326,112 deaths since the start of the pandemic—by far Europe’s worst death toll. Russia’s state statistics agency, which uses broader counting criteria, puts the pandemic death toll even higher, saying the number of virus-linked deaths between April 2020 and October 2021 was over 625,000. Russia’s authorities admit that current surge could end up as the

b orde r s, i n R u s s i a - o cc upie d C r i me a , a nd i n R u s s i a - con t rol led ea ster n U k ra ine, a re unpredictable and can deteriorate with little notice. Demonstrations, which have turned violent at times, regularly occur throughout Ukraine, including in Kyiv.” The department’s travel advisory, which had warned against traveling to Ukraine because of Covid-19 as well as the tensions over Russia, was changed Sunday to carry a stronger warning. “Do not travel to Ukraine due to the increased threats of Russian military action and Covid-19. Exercise increased caution in Ukraine due to crime and civil unrest. Some areas have increased risk,” the department advised. The travel advisory for Russia was also changed: “Do not travel to Russia due to ongoing tension along the border with Ukraine, the potential for harassment against US citizens, the embassy’s limited ability to assist US citizens in Russia, Covid-19 and related entry restrictions, terrorism, harassment by Russian government security officials, and the arbitrary enforcement of local law.” The State Department would not say how many Americans it believes are currently in Ukraine. US citizens are not required to register with embassies when they arrive or plan to stay abroad for extended periods. AP

Journalist jailed before trial for Erdogan insult

Australian PM’s account blocked on China’s WeChat–Lawmaker

he popular Chinese messaging application WeChat appears to have blocked access to Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s account, leading one senator to call for a parliament-wide boycott of the service. Senator James Paterson, chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, said on Monday the prime minister’s team had been having trouble accessing the WeChat account for months. It was finally taken out of the government’s control in early January despite for ma l representat ions f rom Morrison’s office, he told radio station 4BC. “My view is given that WeChat is such a closely controlled company by the Chinese Communist Party, that this amounts to foreign interference in our democracy and in an election year no less,” he said.

Russia’s daily Covid cases hit new all-time high amid Omicron surge

A S H I N G T O N —T h e State Department on Sunday ordered the families of all American personnel at the US Embassy in Ukraine to leave the country amid heightened fears of a Russian invasion. The department told the dependents of staffers at the US Embassy in Kyiv that they must leave the country. It also said that non-essential embassy staff could leave Ukraine at government expense. The move came amid rising tensions about Russia’s military buildup on the Ukraine border that were not eased during talks Friday between Secretary of State A ntony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Geneva. State Department officials stressed the Kyiv embassy will remain open and that the announcement does not constitute an evacuation. The move had been under consideration for some time and does not reflect an easing of US support for Ukraine, the officials said. In a statement, the State Department noted recent reports that Russia was planning significant military action against Ukraine. However, the Russian Foreign Ministry has accused NATO countries of escalating tensions around Ukraine with disinformation. The State Department added: “ The security conditions, pa r t ic u l a rly a long U k ra i ne’s

STA NBUL —A wel l-k now n Turkish journalist has been jailed pending a trial for insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, her lawyer said. Sedef Kabas was taken into custody after she cited a proverb on television and social media referring to an ox. Under the insult law, tens of thousands have been prosecuted for targeting Erdogan since he became president in 2014 after more than a decade as prime minister. Her lawyer, Ugur Poyraz, tweeted that she had been formally arrested during an appearance at court in Istanbul on Saturday. The judge accepted the prosecution argument that she posed a flight risk. Kabas, 53, has hosted a series of high-profile TV shows over a career spanning three decades. She was detained by police at her home in Istanbul early Saturday following her remarks on Tele 1 and Twitter. G o ve r n me nt f i g u re s con demned Kabas while opposition politicians defended her right to free speech. AP

Tuesday, January 25, 2022

People wearing face masks to help protect against the spread of the coronavirus ride a subway car in an underground in St. Petersburg, Russia on January 21, 2022. Daily new coronavirus infections in Russia have reached an all-time high and authorities are blaming the highly contagious Omicron variant, which they expect to soon dominate the country’s outbreak. Record numbers of new cases were reported in Moscow and in St. Petersburg, where health officials on Friday limited elective outpatient care. AP/Dmitri Lovetsky

country’s biggest yet but so far haven’t announced any major restrictions to stem it. A nationwide lockdown wasn’t being discussed, officials said, the government decided to indefinitely postpone introducing restrictions for unvaccinated people, which would have been an extremely unpopular move among

vaccine-hesitant Russians. Russia has also cut the required isolation period for people infected with Covid-19 from 14 to seven days, although it remains unclear when that takes effect. Aut hor it ies say t he cou nt r y ’s soa r ing infect ions so fa r haven’t led to a sim i l a r spi ke in hospit a l i zat ions. AP

UAE intercepts 2 ballistic missiles over Abu Dhabi

UBAI, United Arab Emirates—The United Arab Em i r ate s i nte rce pte d two ballistic missiles targeting Abu Dhabi early Monday, its state-run news agency reported, the latest attack to target the Emirati capital. A spokesm a n for Yemen’s Houthi rebel militia later said they had launched attacks targeting both the Emirates and Saudi Arabia, without elaborating. The attack on Abu Dhabi, after another last week killed three people and wounded six, further escalates tensions across the Persian Gulf as Yemen’s yearslong civil war grinds on. T hat war, pitting Iranianbacked Houthi rebels against a Saudi-led coalition, has become a regional conflict as negotiations continue over Tehran’s tattered nuclear deal with world powers. The collapse of the accord has sparked years of attacks across the region.

The prime minister’s office had no immediate comment. Efforts to find Scott Morrison’s WeChat account on Monday morning in China were unsuccessful. With more than a billion users globally, WeChat is one of the most popular messaging applications in the world. China’s government regularly censors sensitive content, including on WeChat, which is owned by Tencent Holdings Ltd. A Tencent spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Many Australian politicians, including opposition Labor Party leader Anthony Albanese, have WeChat accounts posting in Mandarin in an attempt to reach out to China’s large diaspora. In the 2016 census, about 5.6 percent of the population said they had Chinese ancestry—more than one in 20 citizens.

The state-run WAM news agency said that missile fragments fell harmlessly over Abu Dhabi. The Emirates “is ready and ready to deal with any threats and that it takes all necessary measures to protect the state from all attacks,” WAM quoted the UAE Defense Ministry as saying. Videos posted to social media show the sky over the capital light up before dawn Monday, with points of light looking like interceptor missiles in the sky. The videos corresponded to known features of Abu Dhabi. The missile fire disrupted traffic into Abu Dhabi International Airport, home to the long-haul carrier Etihad, for about an hour after the attack. A Houthi military spokesman did not immediately respond to questions from the AP on Monday’s attack. Mohammed AbdulSalam, a Houthi spokesman, later tweeted: “The Yemeni armed forces will reveal, in the coming hours,

Paterson called for all Australian politicians to stop using WeChat until the prime minister’s account was restored. “No one should be legitimizing their censorship and their control over our public debate,” he said. Gladys Liu, who became Australia’s first Chinese-Australian woman to be elected to the House of Representatives in 2019, said she would no longer use her personal or professional WeChat accounts “until the platform explains itself.” “This sort of interference in our political processes is unacceptable, and this matter should be taken extremely seriously by all Australian politicians,” she said in a statement Monday afternoon. In comments to 4BC, Albanese said he would talk with Morrison over the WeChat incident, adding that it could have “national security implications.” Bloomberg News

details of a military operation in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.” The US Embassy in Abu Dhabi later issued a security alert to Americans living in the UAE, warning citizens to “maintain a high level of security awareness.” The alert included instructions on how to cope with missile attacks, something unheard-of previously in the UAE, a tourist destination home to skyscraper-studded Dubai and its long-haul carrier Emirates. The attack came a week after Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed an attack on the Emirati capital targeting the airport and an Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. fuel depot in the Mussafah neighborhood. New, high-resolution satellite photographs obtained by The Associated Press from Planet Labs PBC showed repair work still ongoing at the fuel depot Saturday. Emirati officials have not released images of the attacked sites, nor allowed journalists to see them. In recent days, a Saudi-led coali-

tion that the UAE backs unleashed punishing airstrikes targeting Yemen, knocking the Arab world’s poorest country off the Internet and killed over 80 people at a detention center. The Houthis had threaten to take revenge against the Emirates and Saudi Arabia over those attacks. On Sunday, the Saudi-led coalition said a Houthi-launched ballistic missile landed in an industrial area in Jizan, Saudi Arabia, slightly wounding a foreigner. The hardline Iranian daily newspaper Kayhan, whose editorin-chief was appointed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, just Sunday published a front-page article quoting Houthi officials that the UAE would be attacked again with a headline: “Evacuate Emirati commercial towers.” The newspaper in 2017 had faced a two-day publication ban after it ran a headline saying Dubai was the “next target” for the Houthis. AP

Pope Francis holds the sacred host as he celebrates mass to mark the day of the Word of God, in St. Peter’s Basilica, at the Vatican on January 23. AP/Andrew Medichini

Pope calls for day of prayer for peace

A T I C A N C I T Y— Po p e Francis on Sunday expressed his concern over “rising tensions” in Ukraine that threaten peace, and called for political talks that put at the center “human brotherhood instead of partisan interests.” “I am following with concern the rising tensions that threaten to inflict a new blow to peace in Ukraine, and put in question the

security in Europe with even wider repercussions,” Francis said. Francis called for a day of prayer for peace on Wednesday so that political talks may focus on “human brotherhood instead of partisan interests,” adding “those who pursue their own goals to the detriment of others despise their own human vocation because we have all been created as brothers.” AP

Champ Magsayo tells Russell Jr: Prove your worth

Sports

ALIZE CORNET finally makes Grand Slam quarterfinals after 63 tries. AP

BusinessMirror

EWLY-CROWNED World Boxing Council (WBC) featherweight titlist Mark “Magnifico” Magsayo said on Monday that a rematch should be earned and not demanded as he told dethroned champion Gary Russell Jr. to fall in line and prove his worth just like any challenger. “It depends on Al Haymon and Sir Sean [Gibbons], but he really needs to win [again] first and become a mandatory challenger just like what I did before,” Magsayo told BusinessMirror on Monday. “Not anybody can become a challenger. He needs to fall in line—I also waited for my turn.” “But I’m willing to fight anybody,” said Magsayo, 26, who remained unbeaten in 24 fights (with 16 knockouts) following his majority decision victory over an injured Russell on Sunday in their 12-round title fight organized by Premier Boxing Champions in Atlantic, New Jersey. Russell claimed after the fight that his right shoulder was badly hurt from consistent beating by Magsayo and was forced to fight only with his left hand. Magsayo said he is also open for a unification fight. “It’s great to hear and see if you’re a unified world champion,” said Magsayo, one of the illustrious boxers under the wings of Senator Manny Pacquiao’s MP Promotions headed by Sean Gibbons. “I’m for it. I want to face the other world champions.” Spain’s Kiko Martinez holds the International Boxing Federation 126-pound belt and Mexico’s Leo Santa Cruz has the World Boxing Association crown and Emmanuel Navarrete the World Boxing Organization belt. Magsayo and wife Frances, meanwhile, will be savoring the victory and will tour New York City. “Sir Sean promised to bring us to New York City and give my gift there,” said Magsayo, who’s been in the US since July 2020. “I have no idea what it is.” His a title defense, according to Gibbons, could be in June or July. Josef Ramos

Smart supports Omega Empress in MLLB tourney

LDT wireless unit Smart Communications Inc. (Smart) has thrown its full support on Omega Empress, the women’s team under its esports program, as the girls represent the Philippines in the firstever Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Women’s Invitational on Thursday. Mery Christine “Meraay” Vivero, Kaye Maerylle “Keishi” Alpuerto, Rica Fatima “Amore” Amores, Sheen “Shinoa” Perez and Fatima Phoebe “Fibii” Taburnal make up the homegrown squad under the guidance of coach Hans Bilonoac. “Smart has always believed that esports has the power to bring out the best in our athletes, no matter the gender, social status, age, and background,” said Jane Basas, SVP and Head of Consumer Wireless Business at Smart. “We are excited to see our Smart Omega Empress as they carry the Philippine flag in the international stage. We hope that they can inspire our youth to pursue their passion in esports.” Smart Omega Empress (formerly LVD Huntress) team captain Vivero said that they are “happy and overwhelmed” with this milestone. “We’re happy because our potential to compete in the pro scene has now been recognized,” Vivero said. “I’m very glad to see a lot of ladies confidently playing esports and showing off their skills, especially in international games.” Smart Omega Empress, together with another Filipino squad Bren Victress, will battle it out with topnotch all-female crews from Southeast Asia in the tournament that offers a $15,000 prize pool. “We are confident that we will provide a good fight, that we will dominate the game,” Vivero said. “This is challenging for us, so we need to practice double time because the tournament is fast approaching.”

| Tuesday, January 25, 2022 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

CORNET’S PERSEVERANCE AT AUSSIE OPEN PAYING OFF

ELBOURNE, Australia—Alize Cornet has finally reached the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam tournament at her 63rd attempt. The 32-year-old Cornet survived a second-set meltdown to advance to the last eight at the Australian Open with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 win over two-time major winner Simona Halep. “It’s never too late to try again!” Cornet said in her on-court TV inter-

view. “To be in my first quarterfinal. It’s a dream come true. “The journey goes on. I still can’t believe it. Cornet led by a set and 3-1 before losing five consecutive games and 16 straight points to send the match to a decider. Halep saved two match points on her serve in the ninth game before Cornet clinched the match in the 10th. She dropped to her knees on the court and clasped her hands together, putting them over

her face before looking into the stadium at her support team. “It feels amazing,” Cornet said. “The battle we had with Simone, with this heat. After 30 minutes, we were dying.” Cornet will next play Danielle Collins, who beat 19th-seeded Elise Mertens, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, in an almost three-hour match to open play on Rod Laver Arena. Collins was a semifinalist in Australia in 2019. Cornet has never made it past the fourth round since making her

Grand Slam singles debut as a wildcard entry at the 2005 French Open. This is her 17th campaign at the Australian Open. Both women’s matches on Day 8 were played in temperatures up to 34 Celsius (93 F). Cornet used bags of ice to cool down her head during changeovers, and draped cold towels over her neck. “I just stopped thinking after...30 minutes of playing. My brain was already like, overloaded,” Cornet said. “My vision was not clear anymore. My hands were shaking.” AP

OBIENA: PATAFA ACTING IN BAD FAITH OBIENA

By Josef Ramos

ORLD No. 3 pole vaulter Ernest John “EJ” Obiena confirmed on Monday his withdrawal from the Philippine Sports Commission’s (PSC) effort to mediate his crisis with the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (Patafa). “When you speak of mediation, it is a peaceful resolution,” Obiena told BusinessMirror via internet call on Monday from Formia, Italy, where he’s back training after recovering from a knee surgery. “So you need to trust one another and there’s not a single trace of threat.” “The moment that you have a threat that I’m going to do this if you don’t get into mediation or

you’re telling the other party that you’re still going to file a case, that’s already a sign of threat,” Obiena, 26, said. The Asian men’s pole vault record holder accused the Patafa in his latest statement of “manipulating the facts to mislead the public” and blasted his mother national sports association for attacking his mother, Jeanette, “by using friends, relatives and fellow athletes to make a bad picture of him regarding the issue.” “It is a recipe for failure to enter into mediation with one party is in bad faith; Patafa was in bad faith this whole time as they signed the mediation with their true intention to still pursue the filing of a baseless criminal case of estafa against me,” Obiena said in his statement. He added: “Patafa has said [they] want a peaceful resolution, but [their] actions prove this as a lie. You cannot have peace while pointing a gun at the other guy’s head, and say ‘let’s have a peaceful resolution.’ This is the exact opposite of good faith mediation.”

THE Omega Empress team of (from left) Rica Fatima “Amore” Amores, Fatima Phoebe “Fibii” Taburnal, Mery Christine “Meraay” Vivero, Kaye Maerylle “Keshi” Alpuerto and Sheen “Shinoa” Perez are ready to do battle.

Indiana Mr. Basketball TO say it was an honor to be in the presence of one of the finest basketball players the great state of Indiana has ever produced is an understatement. Coach David Magley was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010 and according to its website hoopshall.com, “Played for Hall of Famer George Griffith at South Bend LaSalle High School, 1978 Academic All State, Parade All American and Mr. Basketball…1982 Kansas University leading scorer, rebounder and free throw shooter,

while being voted “Most Inspirational,” Captain and MVP…1st Team All Big 8, 1st Team Academic All American, Scholar Athlete of the Year for the Big 8 Conference…played professionally for the Cleveland Cavaliers (28th pick of the draft), ’83-’84 CBA Champions Albany Patroons and in Europe…currently coach of the Bradenton Christian School, in Florida, where they have had 10 straight 20 win seasons and four Final Four appearances.” On my sports podcast “Sports For All,” Magley said that he played on the 1982 University of Kansas Jayhawks as a senior and he once scored 24 points against the University of North Carolina Tar Heels featuring players James Worthy, Sam Perkins and a freshman guard who turned out to be a pretty good basketball player whose name was Michael Jordan. Coach Magley remembered how high Jordan elevated on his jump shot and how quick and athletic he was and that the only guy that can slow him down, if not stop him, was his coach, the late great Dean Smith. David was an Academic All-American in college as he narrated the challenges of being a student athlete without all the information literally at your fingertips like how student athletes have it these days. Coach Magley was the commissioner of the National Basketball League Canada when an all-out free-for-all happened in Game 7 of the league finals. The one time

Obiena thanked PSC Chairman William Ramirez for working hard as a peacemaker. “I believe in mediation as a tool for peace and have full trust and confidence in the integrity of Chairman Butch Ramirez,” he said. “But it seems that Patafa is only using mediation as a means to silence me and to keep the truth hidden. [They] always trumpet that I should go to mediation if I have nothing to hide. I have nothing to hide and that is the reason why I do not want to go to confidential mediation.” “Darkness is the home of the oppressor. I want the truth out in public, the same public where I was judged as guilty without due process by Mr. Juico [Patafa president Philip Ella Juico],” he added. Juico, contracted for comment by BusinessMirror, said: “Let’s just wait for the announcement and declaration of PSC chairman on the official status of the mediation that PSC organized.”

LIQUIDATION DOCUMENTS SUBMITTED ERNEST JOHN “EJ” OBIENA said he has submitted pertinent documents on his liquidation report on the salary of his Ukranian coach Vitaly Petrov before the weekend, adding these were received by the Philippine Sports Commission’s (PSC) Accounting Department. Obiena’s liquidation report included the P1.7 million paid to Petrov for the period September 2020 to August 2021. He said Petrov also furnished the PSC a copy of his service contract with the Patafa. Obiena said the Patafa has refused to submit a copy of Petrov’s contract despite numerous demands

and requests from PSC and himself since November last year. “And as of January 21, 2022, all my pending liquidation with the PSC is done. It’s closed,” Obiena said. His liquidation report, however, will still be subject to a post-audit scrutiny by the Commission on Audit.

EJ BACK ON HIS FEET AND TRAINING

THE shoo-in for the men’s pole vault gold medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games in September is back in training at the world pole vault training center in Formia, Italy, after undergoing surgery to repair a meniscal tear in his right knee on January 11 at the Southwest German Center for Sports Traumatology in Baden Wurttemberg, Germany. “I’ve already been jumping and vaulting,” Ernest John “EJ” Obiena told BusinessMirror also on Monday. Because of the wonders of modern sports medicine, it tool only a week for Obiena to get back on his feet. The Init Indoor Meeting in Karlsruhe is on his schedule but the pride of Tondo doubts if he would kick off his 2022 indoor campaign in Germany. He’s expected to fly to Nur Sultan in Kazakhstan though for the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships from February 11 to 13. Obiena set the Asian men’s record with a gold medal winning jump of 5.93 meters at the Golden Roof Challenge last September in Innsbruck, Austria. He broke the previous 5.92-meter continental record set by Kazakhstan’s Igor Potapovich in a meet in Dijon, France, in 1992.

Cleveland Cavalier instituted and initiated reforms to make the game safe for both players and fans. He also established a solid working relationship with team owners to make sure the franchises are on the same page with the league. Coach David Magley also won a title with the Albany Patroons of the Continental Basketball Association in 1984 playing for a pretty good coach in former Bulls and Lakers Head Coach Phil Jackson. The Jayhawk product, as a coach, like Jackson, doesn’t curse, shout or scream at his players. He’s never reprimanded his players in front of their teammates and peers. He praises them in public, talks to them in private if there’s any area of improvement in their game. He doesn’t substitute his players right away after a bad shot selection or an unforced turnover, which I understand—because it may ruin or undermine the young player’s confidence. The results as a high school coach speak for themselves. The Magleys are well known and respected in Indiana, and it starts from the patriarch, who is not just a Hall of Famer in Indiana Basketball but outside of it as well.

DANIELLE KANG sprints away to a three-shot victory at the seasonopening Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions. AP

MGR signs up with ‘Tropa’ for two years

ILIPINO-AMERICAN Matt Ganuelas-Rosser signed a two-year contract with TNT Tropang Giga to reunite with his original team in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). But getting sentimental wasn’t the only reason why Ganuelas-Rosser preferred TNT over Terrafirma, which offered the 31-year-old wingman a contract extension after he joined the unrestricted free agent bandwagon. “The biggest thing is I wanted to be on a team that’s contending for championships,” Matt GanuelasRosser told BusinessMirror on Monday. “I want to win, I want to be there at the end, I want to be on a team that’s going to push for a championship because that’s like what I have been in my whole basketball career.” At TNT, Ganuelas-Rosser, called MGR by his peers, won’t be groping under head coach Chot Reyes’s system. A fourth overall pick by NLEX in the 2014 Rookie Draft, he was dealt to the Tropang Giga in a three-way trade that also involved NorthPort. He won a Commissioner’s Cup title in his three years with TNT before he was traded to San Miguel Beer for guard RR Garcia in 2017. As a Beerman, he collected four titles until he was shipped to Terrafirma February last year as part of the 3-for-1 player trade for CJ Perez. “It’s sort of a homecoming. A lot of players when I was there are still there, so I’m really familiar with the coaches and their system, especially with Coach Chot [Reyes],” said Ganuelas-Rosser, son of former US Navyman James who was stationed in Subic and Gina who hails from La Union. “He’s [Reyes] my first coach in the Philippines.” Ganuelas-Rosser skipped the shortened PBA season in 2020 but returned in the previous Philippine Cup and averaged 5 points, 2.0 rebounds. 1.8 assists and 2.0 steals in five games with Terrafirma. A father of four lovely little daughters—Nalah (8), Shiloh (7), Venus (4) and Violet (2) with wife Brittany, Ganuelas-Rosser started training in a TNT uniform on Monday. Josef Ramos

Kang starts new LPGA year with victory

RLANDO, Florida—Danielle Kang readily admits she, and her golf game, remain a constant work in progress. She spent much of the offseason finding a way to be “comfortable being uncomfortable.” It seems to be working. On a difficult championship test at Lake Nona Golf and Country Club, Kang ran off five birdies in a sevenhole stretch in the middle of her round, posted the low score Sunday at four-under 68 and sprinted away to a three-shot victory at the seasonopening Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions. “My mental game was really good,” said Kang, who was winless in 2021 after having won in each of her previous four Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) seasons. “I had a really good attitude all day today and yesterday. I know I left some putts out there, but I never let it get to me, and I kept having to give myself birdie chances as much as possible.” Kang finished at 16-under 272, three shots clear of Canada’s Brooke Henderson (70). Kang was the lone player to break 70 on both weekend days (69-68), and the only player to shoot in the 60s all four rounds. The 29-year-old American now has six LPGA titles. In her only previous visit to Lake Nona, Kang missed the cut at the Gainbridge LPGA last year. But when asked about it during this tournament, Kang said she had no recollection. AP